Back In Action
by Holly25Trouble
Summary: Sequil to Homecoming. A missing elf. Hidden powers. A possible romance brewing in the mix. When Holly returns to the LEP from the Academy, things change for the worse. But can they change for the better?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: I'M BACK!!!!!!! This is the sequil to "Homecoming"!!!! YAYZ!!!!! I've been wanting to get this up here for a while now. This is going to be a long FanFic. I'm not even done writting this one and I already have an idea for a sequil to this one!!!!! Well I'll let you read on now. Enjoy the frist chapy of Back In Action!!!!!!_**

Chapter 1: Three Weeks

Trouble Kelp was sitting at his desk, filling out e-forms. He looked over at the picture on his desk for the hundredth time that day. It was a picture of him and Holly Short standing on a stage at Holly's promotion ceremony. Foaly had taken the picture. Holly had finally been promoted to major and became Trouble's second in command. He picked up the picture and looked at it, wishing time would move faster. Trouble looked up from the picture and at the calendar. It had been two weeks and six days since Holly had left for the academy. She would be coming back tomorrow afternoon. He looked down at the picture again before putting it back and returning to his paper work.

* * *

The next hour included Trouble yelling at Chix for standing outside the girl's locker room, reading three of Grub's numerous complaints, telling Lilli to quit putting on make-up while she was doing paper work (he had received two e-forms with glitter, mascara and lip gloss all over it), talking to Foaly about his wedding and filling out more e-forms. All in all, his day was just the same old same old. Trouble was reading Grub's fourth complaint of the day when someone knocked on his office door. "Come in," he said, scribbling down a note to Grub telling him that if he was so cold, then he should bring in a sweatshirt. The door was opened and closed as someone entered the room. "Yes?" Trouble asked looking up from his paper work. Standing in front of him was a woman in a recon uniform and helmet. Trouble felt a smile spread across his face as the woman took her helmet off. She smiled at him as he stood up from his chair and said, "Good afternoon Commander."

"Holly," he whispered. Trouble walked around the desk and stood in front of her. "Any reason your back a day early?" Trouble asked. Holly handed him an envelope addressed to him.

"Well, I'm back because one, I passed all of the classes with flying colors," she said smugly. He opened the envelope and read the paper inside. Holly was right; she did pass the classes with flying colors. She made a new record in every course.

"Wow," Trouble muttered under his breath. He looked up from the paper to see Holly looking down at the ground.

"They wanted me to stay there until tomorrow but I said that I wanted to come home today. I've just missed most of you and I wanted to come home and see everyone." She whispered. She glanced up to see Trouble smiling softly at her.

"We've missed you too," he said softly. Holly blushed lightly and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Your hair," Trouble said nodding at it. "It's…."

"Longer?" Holly finished. "Yeah, it grew out a bit." She said twirling a strand of hair around a finger. It was true. Holly's hair was now a bit below her shoulders.

"It looks nice." He said. "You should keep it like that."

"I'm getting it cut next week." She said pulling out a hair tie. "So enjoy it while you can." Trouble opened his mouth to retort when the door was opened. Lilli Frond walked into the office with a stack of e-forms.

"Here are those forms you wanted." She said handing the Trouble the stack.

"I asked for one form. Not a 100."

"Oh," Lilli said flipping her hair. "There are also the forms that Bathe, Verbil, Papel and Curts owe you." Trouble looked through the stack of forms. He pulled out about ten forms and looked at them briefly.

"Who are these from?" He asked as Lilli turned to leave.

"Complaint forms from Grub," she said and left the room. Trouble tossed the forms back onto his desk and groaned.

"I have no idea what she sees in him," he said running a hand through his hair. Holly had no idea what he was talking about and she was sure that she didn't want to know. But she could tell that Trouble was a little stressed out. She looked behind him at his desk. There was e-form after e-form stacked on top of each other.

"Do you want me to give you a hand with the paper work?" Holly asked. Trouble looked at Holly then the stack of e-forms and back again.

"I won't make you," he said. She walked around him and picked up half of the stack Lilli brought in.

"And a little hint," she said holding up Grubs complaint forms. "Whenever you get one of Grub's complaints, just do what Root did and throw them out." Holly said holding up one of the new complaints and tossing it into the trash bin. Trouble grabbed the rest of the complaints and dropped them into the trash bin.

"I always wondered how Root got through all of Grub's complaints so fast." He said throwing away the note away. Holly chuckled as she left the room.

"I'll get started on these," she said holding up the e-forms.

"Where are you going to work on them? You don't have an office yet," Trouble said grinning smugly. Holly stopped with her hand on the door.

"Yeah, it might help if I have a place to do my work." She said sarcastically. Holly opened the door and waited for Trouble. He walked out of the room and gestured down the hall.

"Shall we?" Holly rolled her eyes and followed him down the hall. Trouble led Holly down the hall and into an office. She looked around the room.

"Wasn't this your office?" She asked tossing the e-forms onto the desk.

"Yep. Is that a problem?" Trouble asked.

"No sir," she said leaning against the desk.

"Very well, I'll send Foaly up to set up the computer stuff and show you how to use it." He said and left the room. Holly walked around the desk and sat down in the chair. _I'd better get started on this paper work_, she thought and started to dig around in her pockets looking for a pen. _D'Arvit! I can't find my pen! _She thought digging around inside the desk. Holly couldn't find a pen in the desk so she walked outside the office, over to the nearest cubical and knocked on the wall.

"Huh?" A voice said.

"Do you have a-." Holly began to ask but the question died in her throat. Chix Verbil poked his head his head over the cubicles wall.

"Hey there Holly! I didn't think you were coming back 'till tomorrow," Chix said. _I'd better get a pen and leave before he starts hitting on me._

"Never mind that corporal. Do you have a pen I can barrow?" Holly asked him.

"Sure do," Chix said and ducked down behind the cubical wall again. A second later he came back into view. "Here you go Holly."

"That's Major Short to you," Holly said taking the pen and returning to her office. She sat back down at her desk and started to look over the reports.

* * *

Thirty minutes later there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," Holly said scribbling her name down onto the report. She looked up as the door was opened. "Hey Foaly!" Holly said cheerfully as the centaur trotted into the room.

"Hey Holly. Nice to know your back." He said pulling a crate of computer technology behind him.

"It's good to be back," she said getting up from her chair. "Is that for me?" She asked nodding at the crate.

"Yep. All of my latest technology. Only you, the commander and the council get this stuff." Foaly said trying to dislodge a gas screen from the crate. "Want to give me a hand?" Holly started to clap her hands. "Ha-ha. Oh you're a riot Holly." He said sarcastically.

"Thank you. I try," she replied.

"Your welcome. Now get over here and help me get this onto the wall," Foaly grunted as he lifted the gas screen off the crate. Holly rolled her eyes and helped him lift the screen onto the wall.

"I thought you said it was called a gas screen," she said as Foaly hit a button to stick the screen to the wall.

"It is. You can let go now," Foaly said after the screen was firmly attached to the wall.

"Then why is it so heavy?" Holly asked. "That screen is like 200 pounds!"

"Actually it's only 180 pounds," Foaly corrected her as he pulled out some more stuff. For the next two hours Foaly showed Holly all of the new technology and showed her how to use it.

"I should go and let you finish up your paper work," he said after setting up Holly's new computer.

"Okay," Holly said. "I'll see you later then."

"Alright. See ya!" Foaly said and pulled his now empty cart out of the room.

* * *

Holly finished the e-forms an hour and a half latter. She got up to take the e-forms to the commander when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said leaning against the desk. The door was opened and Trouble walked into the office. "Ah, Commander. I was coming to see you." Holly said holding up the stack of e-forms.

"You finished them all?" He asked closing the door.

"Yes sir," she said handing the e-forms to him. Holly studied Trouble's face as he looked over the forms. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his hair was all messed up. "Commander?" Holly asked.

"Yes Major Short?" Trouble asked as he opened one of the files to read over it.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" Trouble looked up from the file.

"I don't know. Why?"

"You just look really tired. Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?"

"No," he said. Holly took his hand and pulled him over to the gas screen. Trouble took a look at himself. "Do I look that bad?" He asked out loud.

"Yeah." She said. "Look, why don't you go home and get some sleep. I'll finish the rest of the e-forms and bring them by your house latter tonight." He opened his mouth to object but he saw that look in Holly's eyes. The look that said, "This is for your own good. If you don't go home, then I'll make you go home."

"Alright. I'll go home," Trouble said running a hand through his hair.

"Good." Holly said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll go get my keys and the e-forms." Trouble said and left the office to go home.

**_A/N: WELL?!?!?!??!?!?!? Did you like it?!?!??!!? why am I even asking that? of course you did!!!! I will have the 2nd chapter up by Christmas!!!! Review plz!!!!!_**


	2. Chapter 2: A Late Night Call

**_A/N:I got this chapter done faster than i expexted!!!! I promise that you will all like this chapter!!! Enjoy!!!! _**

Chapter 2: A Late Night Call

Four hours later Holly was done with all of the e-forms Trouble had given her. _I wonder why it took him so long to do these_, she thought putting the forms up. There was a loud crash outside Holly's office. "Grub." She muttered, presuming it was him tripping over something. Until she heard yelling that is.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?!" Someone shouted.

"He wasn't in his office! I don't know where he is!" Someone else yelled back. Holly got up from her chair and walked to the door and opened it. A sprite and an elf were standing five yards away from each other, both red faced.

"What is going on here?!" Holly yelled at them. She recognized the sprite. It was Tyler Skims.

"Major Short! What are you doing back so early?" Skims asked.

"That is for me to know and you not to," she said. "Now answer my question."

"We cannot find Commander Kelp," the elf said.

"The Commander went home a few hours ago. What do you need him for?"

"We just got a call from a Tina Hangs, saying that her daughter hasn't come home yet." The elf said quickly.

"When was she supposed to be home?" Holly asked.

"At nine AM." Skims said. Holly looked at the clock behind her. Noon.

"Did she check with friends?" She asked.

"Yes, all of them said that the daughter was on the way home at 8:50." The elf said. Holly rubbed her forehead.

"Okay. This is what I want you and…."

"Captain Klos," the elf said.

"And Captain Klos to go to the mother's house. Talk to her and get a list of the daughters friends. Then I want you two and another group of two to go to the friend's house and talk to them. Treat it as a runaway case. If you find anything call me. I'll go to the Commander's house and tell him." Holly said quickly. The elf and the sprite saluted her and ran off to do their jobs. Holly ran into her office and grabbed an e-form. She ran back out of the office and out of LEP Plaza.

* * *

Trouble slept for a couple of hours. When he got up he decided to fix himself something to eat. He had just finished eating when he realized that someone had decorated his apartment for Christmas. There were some lights strung around the living room. Along with some holly. Trouble shook his head. "I swear that woman will be the death of me some day," he muttered. Suddenly there was a knock at his door. "Coming!" Trouble yelled wondering what he was going to do with all of the lights. He opened the door and was face to face with Holly. "Holly! What are you doing here? Don't tell me you finished all of those e-forms."

"Yes. I finished all of the e-forms," Holly said walking into Trouble's apartment. "But that's not –What in Fronds name happened to your apartment?" She asked looking around the room.

"I think my mother had something to do with it," Trouble said following Holly into the room. She shook her head.

"Your mother is one of the most Christmas decoration crazy person I have ever met," Holly said holding up a string of lights.

"I think she's probably the only Christmas crazy person you've ever met." He pointed out to her. Holly rolled her eyes at him. Something hanging from the ceiling caught her eye. She took a double take and felt color rushing to her cheeks. Trouble noticed Holly was staring at the ceiling.

"What is it?" He asked and looked up at the ceiling too. "D'Arvit Mom!" He muttered under his breath. On the ceiling was a small patch of mistletoe. Trouble looked back down at Holly. "Umm… we should just get it over with," he said to her.

"Yeah," she said looking down at the ground. Holly took a deep breath and looked back up at Trouble. He bent down a little. She closed her eyes as he leaned his head down the rest of the way and kissed her softly on the lips. Holly felt her heart skip a beat as she slowly wrapped an arm around Trouble's neck. They pulled their heads away slowly, neither of them really wanting to. Holly looked Trouble in the eye then she quickly turned her gaze to the floor.

"What?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing." Holly said quickly. "It's just that I'm standing under the mistletoe with my commanding officer and we were kissing." Trouble placed his hand under her chin and pulled her head up until he could look her in the eye. Her beautiful mix-matched eyes.

"Well I'm off clock right now, so that means I'm not your commanding officer. I'm just some guy standing under the mistletoe kissing a beautiful elf." Trouble said softly to Holly. Holly smiled at him and kissed him again. Trouble wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. Holly ran a hand up his chest until she found a button and began to unbutton Trouble's shirt as he pulled her towards the couch. Trouble fell onto the couch with Holly on top of him, still kissing. Suddenly the front door was thrown open and two people ran inside. Trouble shot up from the couch and knocked Holly onto the floor.

"Trubs! Trubs are you up?!" Someone asked running into the room. Grub Kelp stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Trouble with his shirt undone and Holly on the floor. Chix Verbil followed Grub into the room.

"You know how- whoa! What happened here?" Chix asked looking from Trouble to Holly. "We didn't interrupt anything did we?"

"No," Holly said coldly as Trouble helped her to her feet. Chix eyed the two of them again.

"What do you want Grub?" Trouble asked before Chix could ask anymore questions.

"Umm we may have a lead on the missing girl."

"What missing girl?" Trouble asked. Holly cleared her throat.

"I was getting ready to tell you about her but your house distracted me," she said. He nodded his head.

"Would you care to inform me about the missing girl Major?" He asked.

"Yes sir. Around noon a Tina Hangs called LEP Plaza to inform us that her daughter hadn't arrived home yet. Seeing that the sun is out on the surface and curfew for anyone 73 and under is ten AM, I sent two groups of two out to the mother and friends. I told them to treat it as a runaway case and that if they had any information to call me," Holly said and glared at Chix and Grub. "Not come crashing into the Commander's apartment."

"Good. Now what is this information you two have?" Trouble asked tearing his gaze away from Holly. Grub reached in his tunic pocket and pulled out a small notepad.

"We were talking to one of Jessie's friends-."

"Who is Jessie?" Trouble and Holly asked.

"The missing girl. But when we were talking to one of the friends she said, 'I was using Jess's cell phone when she left. I ran to catch up with her to give it back when these goblins jump out from an alleyway and grabbed Jess. I ran towards the alley but by the time I got there they were gone.'" Trouble paled slightly.

"Kelp, Verbal, bring the girl to Police Plaza. Along with the mother. Short, I need you to call Foaly. Tell him I want him in Ops Booth finding some footage from where Jessie and her friends were hanging out at." Grub and Chix saluted Trouble and ran out of the apartment to do what they were told. Holly turned to leave the room. "Holly," Trouble said. She stopped and slowly turned around.

"Yes sir?"

"Wait here for me. I'll be right back." He said and went into his bedroom to change. Holly sat down on the couch and traced a finger over her lips. She smiled softly as she realized what had just happened. The one thing she had been hoping for since she was in the academy. Holly Short finally kissed Trouble Kelp.

**_A/N: I told you that they would kiss soon!!!!! All of you got your whish!!! I will try to update soon!!! much love!!!!_**


	3. Chapter 3: A Sight to See

**_HI ALL!!!!! As promised here is the next chapter!!!! I don't think this chapter is as long as the others. Oh well... Well read on!!!!!_**

Chapter 3: A Sight to See

Holly and Trouble walked into Police Plaza about twenty minutes later. "I'll go to Ops Booth and see what Foaly has for us," Holly said to Trouble when they reached the situation room.

"All right. Call me if you find anything." He said as an elf with short black hair came rushing up to them. Holly left for Ops Booth before the elf could reach them. She was half way down the hall when someone came running up behind her.

"Holly wait up!" A voice yelled at her. She recognized the voice instantly.

"What do you want Chix?" Holly asked when he caught up with her.

"What happened at the Commander's house? I mean Grub and I walk in the room and we see Trouble with his shirt undone and you're on the floor. It's kind of-."

"None of your business," Holly said cutting Chix off. "Now if you would excuse me," she said opening the Ops door, "I need to look at some video footage." Holly walked into the room and closed the door in Chix's face. Foaly looked up from the computer screens as she walked into the room.

"What was Verbil bothering you with now? Did he ask you out again?" Foaly asked as Holly pulled a chair over towards him.

"No, he was asking me what I was doing at the Commander's house," she said sitting down next to Foaly. "What do you have for me?" Foaly looked at her wondering what had happened at Trouble's house. He knew that she went there to tell him about the missing girl. Did something happen? He decided to ask his friend about it later. Jessie, the missing girl, was more important at the moment.

"Jessie's friend Samantha gave us the address where they hang out."

"And where would that be?"

"The old Koboi Labs." Holly clenched her fist.

"Do you have any video from there?"

"Of course. People have been trying to sneak in since Koboi was found guilty for Julius's murder. People have been trying to find stuff of hers and sell it." Foaly said coolly. Holly shook her head. _People these days_, she thought disgustedly.

"Pull up the feed from the cameras and go back to when Jessie left the labs to go home." Foaly quickly pulled the video up and played it. "Which one is Jessie?" Holly asked looking at a group of elves on the screen. Foaly's hands flew over the keyboard. A second later the screen was cut in half and a picture of an elf with long black hair and bright green eyes was on the right side of the screen while video feed was on the left.

"Jessie Hangs. Seventy years old. Senior at Haven High School. Straight A student," Foaly read out load as Holly watched the video feed. She watched Jessie wave goodbye to the rest of the group and walked out of the cameras view.

"Foaly can you get some video feed from another camera? Jessie is out of view of this camera."

"Sure thing Holly," Foaly said as he pulled up a map to see which buildings had cameras on Jessie's route home. She was reading Jessie's bio when her communicator rang. Holly pulled the communicator out of her pocket.

"Hello?" Artemis Fowl's face flickered onto the screen.

"Holly, its Artemis."

"I can see that it's you," Holly said coolly as she continued to read Jessie's bio. "Artemis can I call you back later? I'm a little busy right now."

"Holly, can you to do me a favor?" He asked. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What is it Artemis?"

Minerva found some interesting wildlife on an island off the coast of Africa."

"Uh-huh." She said. Foaly pulled up a new video feed. From this camera they could see Jessie walking down the sidewalk and the goblins hiding in the alley. "Foaly pause the feed and get a close up of the goblins faces. Then run them through the system," Holly said pointing at the goblins.

"Yes ma'am," Foaly said and his hands started flying over the keyboard.

"You're with Foaly?" Artemis asked suddenly intrigued by what Holly had said.

"Yes. Artemis let-."

"Got 'em!" Foaly exclaimed as one of the computer screens showed four sections, each with a different goblin on it.

"Who are they?" Holly and Artemis asked at the same time.

"We have a Mr. Swan, Mr. Ilot, Mr. Nyel and a Mr. Carlten," Foaly said reading the names off the screen.

"Nyel? He was working with Koboi back in the B'wa Kell rebellion," Holly said looking at Nyel's mug shot. "Do they have anything in common?" She asked.

"Yeah, they were all in the B'wa Kell at one time and they shared a cell in Howlers Peak."

"Could they be trying to reform the B'wa Kell?" Artemis asked.

"Maybe." Foaly said. "But what would they need a teenage elf for?"

"I don't know." Holly said quietly. They were silent for a moment. "Foaly, does Jessie and the goblins have anything in common?" She asked suddenly.

"I don't know, let me check," Foaly said. Ten seconds later the results popped up on the screen. "Oh Frond," Foaly said reading the results. Holly read the screen and went a deathly pale.

**_One Common Denominator:_**

**_Jessie Hangs_** **_Nyel _**

**_Niece of Opal Koboi_** **_ Employee of Opal Koboi_**

"Artemis, I need you to get to Tara ASAP. I'll meet you there in half an hour," Holly said to him and hung up. "Foaly get me and the Commander a cruiser to Howlers Peak by the time I'm back here with the Commander and Artemis," she ordered while she printed the results. Holly sprinted out of Ops Booth and down the hall to the situation room. She threw the doors open and scanned the room for Trouble. She spotted him next to a map of Haven. "Commander!" Holly yelled and jogged up to him. Trouble turned around.

"Yes Major Short?"

"Foaly found something sir."

"Anything good?" He asked hopefully. She shook her head.

"No. But I think I know why the goblins snatched Jessie," Holly said handing him the paper. Trouble took the paper and read it. His face paled and he looked up at her.

"Major, get a cruiser ready. We're going to Howlers Peak," he said and threw the paper in the trash. "And call Fowl up. If Opal Koboi is involved I want him and that brain of his ready at any moment."

"I already have Foaly getting us a cruiser. And Artemis is on his way to. I told him we'd be there in thirty minutes," she said. Trouble grinned at her.

"Two steps ahead of me. Good job Major."

"Thank you sir." Holly looked up at the clock. "We need to get to Tara. Artemis will be waiting for us."

"Alright, let's go," he said and led the way out of the situation room.

**_A/n: Well the plot is slowly coming into shape... MWAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!! So now I want you to push that little button that says "Review". Or else my Holly Plushie will come and attack you!!!!!! looks around room wait! where is she? hears noise coming from closet. goes to closet and opens door to find Holly Plushie making out with TroubleRocks's Trouble Kelp Plushie I did not need to see that..._**


	4. Chapter 4: A New Friend

**_A/N: FINALLY!!!!! I'm done typing this chapter!!!!! lolz. Nothing big in this chapter. OMG!!! I just realized that this is my first story for 2008!!!! EK!!! Read on my peeps!!!!_**

Chapter 4: A New Friend

Trouble drove them to Tara in an un-marked cruiser. They were ten minutes away from the shuttle port when they hit a construction block. Trouble flashed his badge at the gnome controlling traffic.

"Sorry officer. Can't let ya through while the machine is going. Your goanna have to wait a couple of minutes," the gnome said over the machine. Trouble sighed.

"All right, just hurry up." Holly snapped from the passengers' seat. The gnome left to make sure that the crew was almost done. Holly and Trouble sat in silence until Trouble finally broke it.

"Holly, about what happened at my apartment," he said quietly. She looked over at him. "I-I….I'm sorry about that. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment." He finished lamely.

"Yeah. Me too," Holly said, her voice just above a whisper. She turned her gave away from Trouble and looked out the window as the gnome waved them threw. Trouble sighed and drove on. He didn't get caught up in the heat moment. The truth was that Trouble really liked Holly. He was just too blind to see it. It took Holly to go missing for three years for him to realize it. Trouble had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Holly felt the same way. But it seemed that she didn't feel the same way. At least that was what it looked like on the surface. Underneath Holly was going crazy. She wanted Trouble to stop the car and sweep her off her feet. She looked over at him, remembering what he had said to her as they pulled into Tara's shuttle port. Holly and Trouble got out of the car and quickly went to the entrance. When they reached the surface they found a small surprise waiting for them. It was snowing outside.

"Wow," Trouble said as they walked outside shielded. "It's so beautiful out here." Holly nodded her head in agreement.

"The last time I saw snow was when I went to the Artic with…." Her voice trailed off. Trouble looked over at her but she turned her head away from him. They stood in silence for a long time. "Did you mean it?" Holly asked suddenly breaking the wintry silence.

"Mean what?" Trouble asked.

"What you said to me back at your apartment. About-." She was cut off by her communicator. "Yes?" She said answering it.

"We're coming down the lane now." Artemis said. No sooner than Holly put the communicator down than the Fowl's Bentley came down the snowy lane and pulled over to a stop on the side of it. Three people got out of the car and started to walk towards Holly and Trouble. Holly could make out Butler and Artemis, but who was the third figure? He was shorter than her and was holding Artemis's hand. She put two and two together and felt her stomach drop.

"Pleases don't tell me he-." Holly started to say but stopped when the group reached them.

"Hello Artemis, Butler." Trouble said and noticed the short third person. "And who is this?"

"This is Myles Fowl. The oldest of the twins by two minutes," Artemis said.

"Why is he here?" Holly asked him. Artemis shuffled his feet.

"Well, Becket is with Juliet back at Fowl Manor. He has a cold and Myles needed to get out of the house."

"So you brought him to Haven?!" Holly exclaimed. "Artemis this is not a baby-sitting service!"

"I assure you Captain that Myles has manners and will not touch a thing while he is with us." She pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly shook her head.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you," she muttered.

"I told him to call first before bringing Myles along with us," Butler said.

"That would have been nice. I could have gotten a bigger car." Trouble said wondering how all 5 of them were going to fit in the car. Myles tugged on Artemis's sleeve.

"Arty, who are you talking to? I hear voices but I don't see anyone," he said with a small voice, "I'm not loosing my mind am I?" Holly's face softened and she gave Myles a small smile. _Okay, so maybe he's not so much like his brother._

"I'm talking to my invisible friends Holly and Trouble. Would you like to meet them?" Artemis asked.

"They aren't going to hurt me are they?" Myles asked timidly. Holly and Trouble laughed and Butler gave a light chuckle.

"You? No. But your big brother? That's up for debate." Artemis glared at Butler as Holly and Trouble doubled over in laughter and Myles went into a small giggling fit.

"Ok. I'll meet them," he said after he was done with his giggle fit. "But how can I see them if they are invisible?" Artemis looked over where Holly and trouble were standing.

"Well," Trouble said walking over to Myles and kneeled down in front of him, "If you ask nicely, close your eyes and believe hard enough, Holly and I can become visible for you."

"Really?" He asked wide-eyed.

"Yup." Trouble said. Suddenly he was hit in the head with a snowball.

"Or you can throw snowballs at him." Holly said tossing a snowball up and down.

"And why would he do that?" Trouble asked standing up.

"It's more fun," she said grinning and threw the snowball at him. Myles and Butler laughed as Trouble dropped to the ground to avoid the snowball and threw a snowball back at Holly. She ducked and the snowball hit Artemis in the face.

"Can we go in now?" Artemis asked whipping the snow away from his face.

"Yes," Trouble said as Holly hit him in the head again with another snowball, "Before Holly bombards us with any more snowballs."

"Go in where?" Myles asked looking around. Holly walked over to him after throwing another snowball at Artemis and knelt down in front of him.

"It's hidden," she whispered to him.

"Then how do we get in?"

"Take my hand and I'll show you how to get inside," Holly said.

"Where is your hand?" Myles asked her. She just let her right hand shimmer into view. "Whoa," he whispered wide-eyed. That is so cool." He said taking her hand. Holly led the group into the shuttle port. Trouble shook his head.

"I knew Holly was good at negotiation. But I never knew she was so good with kids," he said to Artemis and Butler as they followed Holly into the port.

"WHOA! This is awesome!" They heard Myles exclaim as they walked inside the warm shuttle port. Holly had already unshielded and took her helmet off. Artemis took a good look at her and noticed her hair.

"I like what you did with your hair Captain Short," he said as she picked Myles up.

"That's Major Short to you," she said grinning.

"Major?" Butler asked with a small smirk. "When did that happen?"

"About a month ago," Trouble said coming into view. Myles gasped becoming even more wide-eyed, that it was only a matter of time before his eyes popped out of his little head.

"Congratulations Holly," Artemis said.

"Thanks," she said putting Myles back on the ground. Suddenly Trouble's fairy communicator rang. He quickly answered it.

"Yes?"

"Commander, you need to get back to Police Plaza with Holly and Artemis ASAP. Nyel and his goons just sent us a message." Foaly said quickly.

"Okay. We'll be there soon," he said and hung up. "You heard Foaly. Let's move out." Butler picked Myles up and followed Holly, Trouble and Artemis to the cruiser.

**_A/N: Okay, you know what to do!!!! Hit that little review button. plz? FYI; TroubleRocks started this with a review a few chapters back. lol. _**

**_TroubleRocks: Hey! Have you seen my Terouble Plushie?_**

**_Me: No. I think he ran off after you reviewed. _**

**_TR: Oh... Have you seen your Holly Plushie?_**

**_Me: No... but i did see something about a party tonight..._**

**_Both: Uh-oh..._**


	5. Chapter 5: A Message to the LEP

**_A/N: Here it is!!!! The fifth chapy of BIA!!!! Sorry it took so long. I'm working on something top secret right now. But I'm taking a break right now. This is the longest chapter so far!! YAYZ!!! _**

**_Dissclamer: I don't own Artemis Fowl!!!!_**

**__**Chapter 5: A Message to the LEP

Chix Verbil knocked on the Ops Booth door.

"What do you want Chix?" Foaly asked opening the door.

"I want to talk to you about Holly and Trouble," he said walking into Ops Booth.

"What about them?"

"Grub and I went to Trouble's house to tell him about Sam's clue."

"So?"

"So, when we walked in, Trouble's shirt was undone and Holly was on the floor." Foaly raised an eyebrow.

"Holly was on the floor?" He asked. Chix nodded his head. "I wonder…." He said as his hands flew over the keyboard. A few seconds later a video feed from a store across from Trouble's apartment. Foaly zoomed in and played the video back until he saw Holly, Trouble, Chix and Grub in the living room. He went back slowly until it was just Holly and Trouble.

"What are they doing?" Chix asked looking at the screen.

"They're…..KISSING?!" Foaly exclaimed as he zoomed in more and froze the image. The picture didn't lie. Trouble had his arms wrapped around Holly and they were kissing. Foaly and Chix stared at the screen.

"I owe Grub five ingots now," Chix said in disbelief. Foaly snickered behind a big hairy hand. Chix glared at him. "I'm leaving before Holly and the Commander show up." He said and quickly left the room. Foaly shook his head with a small smile. _About time_, he thought saving the picture and getting back to work.

* * *

Most people in Haven were in bed asleep at three PM. This was a good thing seeing as Butler had to fallow the cruiser by foot. The group arrived at Police Plaza about fifteen minutes later. Trouble, Holly, Artemis and Myles got out of the car.

"Where are we?" Myles asked looking around.

"Police Plaza," Holly said. "Trouble and I work here."

"You work here?" He asked looking up and down the Plaza.

"Yep. Wanna go inside?" She asked holding her hand out. Myles looked over at Artemis who was still talking to Trouble about the missing girl.

"Is Arty going in?" Holly looked over at Trouble and Artemis as he grinned his vampire grin and nod his head.

"Yes," she said looking down at Myles. He took her hand.

"Okay! Let's go!" He said cheerfully. Trouble was already halfway to the door as Holly led Myles, Artemis and Butler inside the Plaza. The group walked quickly to Ops Booth and went inside.

"Okay Foaly, where is the message Nyel and his goons sent?" Trouble asked closing the door.

"Right here on-earth is that?" Foaly asked as Myles walked into the room with Holly.

"Cool! A talking man-horse!" Myles said and ran over to Foaly.

"Myles, this is Foaly. He's a centaur," Holly said quickly.

"Foaly this is Myles," Artemis said taking his brother's hand. "He's my little brother."

"You're…." Foaly said looking at Myles again. "Frond you've got to be kidding me. Another Fowl?!"

"Well…." Butler said, "Not exactly."

"What do you mean-?"." Myles

"I have a twin brother. His name is Becket said happily. Foaly dropped into his chair.

"Three Fowls?!" He said in disbelief. "And I though Artemis was trouble."

"Well Myles isn't like Artemis," Holly said with the ghost of a smile lingering around her lips.

"What makes you say that?" Artemis said raising an eyebrow. Myles and Becket looked exactly like Artemis and his father.

"Myles is nicer and cuter than you," Holly said ruffling Myles's hair. Butler smirked while Artemis scowled at Holly. Foaly was laughing his head off and Trouble was smiling. "And he's smarter than both you and Foaly." Foaly stopped laughing immediately and started pouting as Trouble and Holly started laughing. Butler chuckled quietly at Artemis's bemused expression. _I bet Julius would love to see this_, Trouble thought looking over at a picture of Root. Artemis cleared his throat.

"Foaly didn't you call us down here for a reason?" He asked wanting to move away from the subject of his little brothers.

"Yes," Foaly said bitterly. "Nyel sent us a message about Jessie. And it doesn't look good." The room went silent.

"I think," Butler said quietly, "That Myles should leave the room before you show us the message." Trouble nodded his head.

"I know just the person for the job," he said and turned to Foaly. "Call-."

"FOALY! OPEN THE DOOR!" Two voices yelled outside the Ops Booth door. Foaly checked a monitor before opening the door. Lilli and Grub ran into the room.

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see," Trouble said. Suddenly Grub ran up to him and hugged him with such a force that Trouble was having a hard time getting air to his lungs.

"Grub." Holly said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Could you let go of the Commander? I think your crushing him."

"Oh! Yeah, of course," Grub said and released his brother. Trouble took a couple of deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Holly asked, her hand still resting on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said rubbing his chest. Trouble looked over at Grub. "What was that for?"

"Sorry. I'm excited because we have some news for all of you," Grub said taking Lilli's hand.

"Well? What is it?" Foaly asked. Lilli and Grub looked at each other.

"Well," Lilli said, "The news is…." She looked around the room beaming. "I'm going to have a baby!" Lilli exclaimed. "Gruby-poo is going to be a father."

"And that means Trubs is going to be an uncle!" Grub said smiling like a lunatic.

"Um, Congratulations." Trouble said a little shocked. Foaly shook his head.

"Frond help us," he muttered not wanting to think about whose jeans the baby would get.

"Wait." Holly said trying to understand what was going on. "If Lilli is pregnant and Grub is the father, then that means…." Trouble smacked himself married about six months before you came back."

"Oh," she said, "Well then, congratulations. How far along are you?"

"Two months," Lilli and Grub said proudly inwardly for not telling her this.

"Umm, Holly, Grub and Lilli got.

"Well Lilli, since your going to be a mother soon," Trouble said kneeling down to pick up Myles. "Then maybe you could give yourself some hand on experience and watch Myles for Artemis and Butler while we talk." Grub and Lilli were too happy about their bundle of news to notice Artemis and Butler.

"S-sure thing C-commander," Lilli said taking Myles from Trouble. She had heard about Artemis and Butler but never actually met them.

"Stay in the room next door," Trouble said as the three of them left.

"How the hell did the two of them get together?" Holly asked as soon as the door shut. "Their getting together is like me dating Mulch or Chix. It just doesn't make sense."

"Yeah," Trouble said running a hand through his hair. "A lot of us were thinking that too when we first found out." Foaly chuckled.

"Remember when he proposed to her?" Trouble laughed.

"Remember? How could I forget? As soon as Lilli said yes he passed out."

"I think I still have the video of that," Foaly said grinning. Holly cleared her throat.

"Foaly, I'd love to see Grub pass out but don't we have a missing girl to find?" Foaly's face became serious as he nodded his head.

"Here is the message Nyel sent us," He said pulling up a video file. A box popped up on it. Foaly pressed the small green triangle to play the video.

"Commander Kelp, as you are well aware, we have Jessie Hangs with us. And to answer your question, yes, the girl is still alive." The picture flickered from Nyel to an elf with black hair and green eyes filled with fear. She was cuffed to a chair and gagged. The picture flickered back to Nyel. "See? She is safe and sound. Well, for now that is." He said grinning. Holly clenched her fist. Trouble took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm sure all of you are wondering what we want for the safe return of Miss. Hangs. I'll make it simple for you. The release of the following goblins from Howlers Peak, the names are at the end. And twenty four pounds of 24-carrot gold. We want an answer in 48 hours. If we don't get our answer by then, well you can guess what will happen to our little friend." The picture went back to Jessie, and then went blank with a long list of names. The room was deadly silent. No one spoke for a long time.

"What are they planning?" Butler asked out loud, making most of the people in the room jump. Holly and Trouble noticed that they were holding hands and quickly let go.

"Gold and Goblins," Artemis mused rubbing his chin, "It would appear as if Nyel is trying to get the B'wa Kell back together."

"Yes, it does appear that way." Trouble said running a hand through his hair. "Foaly, run a check of the goblins on that list." Foaly quickly ran the names.

"They all were in the B'wa Kell." He read. Suddenly a small smile formed on his face.

"What?" Holly asked.

"Two of the goblins were put in a holding cell with two of our friends." Foaly said turning to face the group. "General Sputa and Bric Fealed."

"What about them?" Trouble asked.

"Fealed was put in a Holding cell with Doodah Day and Sputa was put in a holding cell with Mulch Diggums," Foaly said triumphal.

"I wonder if they remember each other," Artemis said with a grin.

"Let's see if they do," Trouble said. "Artemis, stay here with Foaly and look over that video. See if you can get an idea where they are. Butler, you may want to go get Myles from Lilli." Butler gave him a swift nod and left. "Holly and I will go get Mulch and Doodah."

"Commander," Foaly piped up, "That is a wonderful plan and al but…."

"But what?"

"The Council has called a meeting about Jessie's disappearance."

"When is the meeting?" Trouble growled while his face turned a nice rosy color.

"In about ten minutes." Holly could start to feel some heat from Trouble. He sighed deeply.

"Okay. New plan, Holly will go get Mulch and Doodah. I'm going to see the Council. Artemis, Foaly, if you get anything cal Holly."

"Yes sir," Foaly said. "Pull a chair up Arty boy. We may be here awhile." Butler came back into Ops Booth carrying Myles.

"Holly!" He yelled as Butler placed him on the ground. She grinned at him.

"Hey Myles." She said walking towards the door. "I'll be back soon. I have to go get two of my friends."

"Okay," Myles sighed. Holly gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair. She quickly left the room with Trouble. They were half way down the hall when Trouble said something.

"I think someone has a small crush on you," he said grinning slightly.

"Aw. Is someone jealous?" Holly asked playfully. Trouble raised an eyebrow at her.

"No." He said coolly. She chuckled lightly as they walked into the main lobby. "Take Mulch and Doodah down to OB when you get back here. Then go back to your office and get some sleep." Holly raised an eyebrow at him. "You look like you need it. I'll wake get when the meeting is over." Trouble said and left to go see the Council. She shook her head and left Police Plaza to get Mulch and Doodah.

**_A/N: HAHA!!!! Bet you didn't see Grub and Lilli coming did ya?! LOL! Well the next chapter won't be up anytime soon. I have alot to do. But I wiil try to have it up sometime in Febuary. Review plz!!!!!_**

**_(Or else my Holly Plushie will hunt you down and... oh crap where did she go now? TROUBLE KELP!!!!!! YOU BETTER BRING HOLLY BACK BEFORE I LEAVE FOR MY FLAG COMPATITION NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!! OR ELSE I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU SPEND THE WEEKEND WITH FOALY AND MULCH!!!!! And you know how bad Foaly's snoring is. And Mulch's gas problem.)_**


	6. Chapter 6: Wake Up Call

**_A/N: Hello peoples!!!!! Sorry I haven't updated lately. I've been doing Winter Gaurd stuff and I have Festival for Band in a week. All my band peeps know how fustrating that is. As for Gaurd, we came in First Place on saturday and we're first in the state!!!!! YAY!!!!! So to celabrate here is a new chapter!!!! lol. Enjoy!_**

* * *

Chapter 6: Wake Up Call

"Tell me something," Holly said as she walked with Doodah Day towards the out skirts of Haven, "If the two of you are doing so well with the PI business, then why haven't you or Mulch gotten new houses yet?"

"I don't know." Doodah said yawning. He had been having a very nice dream when Holly knocked on his door. "Comfort zones maybe." He said trying not to fall asleep while walking.

"Or maybe you just had to buy that new car," Holly said with a small grin. Doodah smiled lazily as he thought about the sleek black car they drove here in. They parked it back near Holly's apartment.

"Yeah. That is such a sweet ride…." He said absent mindedly as they walked around the corner. Holly suddenly stopped walking and threw a hand out to stop Doodah, who was day dreaming about his car. "What?" He asked looking around. She didn't say anything but her solder senses were hammering away at the back of her head. She scanned the area around them until her eyes came to rest on a dark alley-way about ten yards in front of them. Holly suddenly felt like they were getting ready to walk into a trap.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here boys," a voice said from behind. Holly's hand strayed over to her neutrino. "A cop and a pixie." Holly turned around slowly to face the voice. An ugly dwarf was standing in front of her. He had his hair in braids and was dressed in muddy cloths. A small grin spread across his face. "And not just any cop. We have ourselves a lady cop." There was laughter coming from around Holly and Doodah. Someone wolf whistled, which brought on more laughter. Holly looked around at the dwarfs that surrounded them. She noticed on one of the dwarf's arm was a big black "B".

"The Brotherhood," she heard Doodah whisper. More laughter.

"Give the pixie a prize," the dwarf said walking up to them.

"Stay where you are." Holly said, her hand resting on her neutrino.

"Why would I want to do that?" He said slyly. Suddenly the dwarf had his jaw unhinged and Holly had her gun in hand, pointing at his head.

"Hey there Doodah." A familiar voice said. Holly felt a small grin spread across her face.

"Hey Mulch, have I ever told you that you have a good sense of timing," she said as Mulch appeared through the crowd.

"Hello Major, wasn't expecting you here. And yes, you have told me that a few times," he said walking up to the pair. "Hey Dave. Is there a problem here?" The dwarf re-hinged his jaw.

"You know them?" Dave asked.

"Sure do." Mulch saw Dave eye Holly's gun. "You couldn't get it out of her hand fast enough. She's too quick." Dave glared at Holly and Doodah before he turned heel and left. The group followed him and soon were out of sight.

"Thanks Mulch," Holly said returning her neutrino to it holster.

"No problem," he said turning to them. "So what brings you out here Holly?" She grinned grimly at him.

"I need you and Doodah to come down to Police Plaza." She said and quickly told them about Jessie and the tape.

"So Foaly wants us down there to talk about an old holding cell mate?" Mulch asked as the trio ran down the street back to Doodah's car. Holly nodded her head swiftly as they turned the corner to her apartment complex. He sighed. "Why doesn't this surprise me." Mulch said as they ran to the car.

* * *

Foaly, Artemis and Butler were sitting in front of a bunch of computer screens, looking at the video Nyel sent. Myles was sitting behind them drawing on a sheet of paper Foaly had given him. Artemis sighed.

"Play it back again," he said. Foaly sighed and did as he was told. There was a sudden and urgent knocking at the door. Foaly looked at a monitor and grinned. He pressed a button that opened the door.

"I'm not loaning you any money," he said as Chix walked into the room.

"I don't need the money." He snapped, "Did you hear about Grub and Lilli?"

"Yes." Foaly said turning back to the screen. Chix sat down next to him with a plop.

"I don't know what's more shocking," he said stroking his wings, "Grub and Lilli or Holly and Trouble."

"Holly and Trouble?!" Artemis and Butler asked together.

"Yeah, Holly was at-GAH!" Chix yelled jumping out of his chair. "M-m-mud Men!" Myles giggled.

"You're funny," he said.

"GAH! MudKid!"

"Cool it Chix," Foaly said pulling him back into the chair. "Artemis is helping with the Jessie Hangs case."

"Oh," Chix said.

"What was that about Holly and Trouble?" Artemis asked pausing the video and giving Chix his full attention.

"Uhh…."

"Just tell him," Foaly said rolling his eyes. "He'll find out anyways."

"Okay. Well Grub and I got some info on Jessie, so we went to the Commander's house. I went to knock on the door but Grub pulled out a key, opened the door and went right on in like he owned the place." He said leaning back into the chair.

"And then?" Butler asked.

"Then we walk into the room and there is the Commander, with his shirt undone and Holly on the floor." Artemis raised his eyebrows.

"Do you know what happened before you entered the room?"

"We have a pretty good idea," Foaly chuckled as he pulled the picture of Holly and trouble up. Butler's mouth fell open and Artemis grinned smugly. "We've been wondering how long it would take them."

"We?" Butler asked.

"Me, Chix, Ash, Grub… Julius," Foaly said gazing at the picture. "It has been obvious for the longest time. All they need is a little encouragement."

"Maybe we can be that encouragement," Artemis said grinning his famous vampire grin.

"Don't even think about it," Butler started.

"Why is that girl at Minnie's house?" Myles asked suddenly, pointing at Jessie.

"What?" Artemis asked turning to his brother. "Jessie isn't…." He trailed off. "Foaly enlarge the picture on the boxes behind Jessie!" he exclaimed pointing at the screen. Foaly's hands were flying across the keyboard when the door opened.

"Arty! Long time, no see," Mulch said walking into the room with Doodah.

"Wow," Myles said looking at him. "You look weird. And smell weird too."

"Who that?" Doodah asked pointing at Myles.

"That-."

"GOT IT!" Foaly exclaimed. Artemis quickly turned back to the screen and smiled. He suddenly turned to Myles and kissed him on the top of his head.

"Myles you're a genius!" Foaly, Chix, Mulch, Doodah and Butler's mouths dropped open.

"Did," Foaly said.

"He," Mulch said pointing at Artemis.

"Just," Doodah said.

"Kiss," Chix said dumb founded.

"Myles," Butler said.

"And call him a genius?" Foaly asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with Artemis?" Mulch asked.

"EW! Gross!" Myles said whipping his head.

"Would you care to explain?" Butler asked.

"Myles thought Jessie was at Minerva's house because of the picture on the boxes."

"So?" Doodah and Chix asked.

"That picture is her father's company symbol."

"So?"

"So, he has warehouses all over Europe. All we have to do is find out which one is not being used and we find Jessie!" Artemis exclaimed. Foaly looked over at Myles.

"You're smart for a little kid."

"Thank you," Myles said grinning.

"Foaly, I think you better call the Commander."

* * *

Trouble was sitting at a table with the Council.

"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Vinyaya asked.

"No. But I have Foaly looking at the video looking for anything that might help us find Jessie." He said. Councilman Duffman snorted.

"That'll be soon," he muttered.

"Artemis is also helping," Trouble growled, wising he could take a shot at Duffman. He snorted again.

"I'm sure with Foaly and Artemis working together we will have an answer in no time," Lope said. Then, as if his words were magic, Trouble's communicator rang.

"Excuse me," he said pulling out the communicator. "Kelp."

"We think we know where Jessie is," Foaly and Artemis said.

"Nice call Lope," Vinyaya said grinning. "Go see what they have Commander. Call back in 12 hours."

"Yes ma-am," he said and quickly left. "Did you guys call Major Short?"

"Uh…." Foaly said.

"I told you not to call him," Mulch said from behind Foaly.

"Shut up!" Artemis snapped. Trouble sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll go get her." He said, "We'll be down there in a bit." Trouble ended the call and started to walk quickly back to Holly's office.

* * *

**_A/N: So? Good chapter or what? Its not one of my favs but I got through the chapter. _**

**__**

**_I made a new song up!!!!! Tell me what you think!!!!! (its for Chix)_**

**_"Chix is too sexy for the Chicks. So sexy that it hurts.(him)" lol _**

**__**

**_In the next chapter... _**

**_- Holly and Trouble action?!?!?!?! (Maybe. I haven't made up my mind yet.)_**

**_- Minervia gets a surpris call._**

**_- Artemis, Butler, Foaly, Mulch, Chix, and Doodah make plans to push Holly and Trouble together. (Like their plan will work. lol)_**

**_-The LEP gets a surprise visiter!! (I wonder who?)_**

**_-And... trouble at Howlers Peak._**

**__**

**_ MISSING!_**

**_ -Major Holly Short Plushie. Last seen drunk at a party making out with Ash Vein. I mean Trouble Kelp! If seen please contact ASAP. Thank You!!!_**

**_ Reward- uh... A chance to go out on a Date with Grub Kelp, Trouble Kelp or Lilli Frond._**


	7. Chapter 7:Surprise

**_A/N: HEY!! I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated in forever. i've been super busy! But here is chapy 7!! Oh just so you all know. I let my friend read a lil part of chapy 2 and my other friend came in at the wrong time and yelled "ELF SEX" really loud. so now I can't write about that part of the chapter without laughing my a off. _**

Chapter 7: Surprises

Trouble retrieved Holly and quickly went to Ops Booth. He opened the door and walked inside with Holly. He opened his mouth to ask where Jessie was, but that question was struck down when he saw Mulch, Doodah and Foaly crowded around a computer screen. Artemis, Butler and Myles were no where to be seen. The trio around the computer began to giggle.

"You were right Foaly," Mulch said grinning widely, "This is better than the news about Grub and Lilli." Holly and Trouble exchanged a glance and started to walk over to the small group.

"I heard they-." Doodah started but was cut off by Holly's communicator ringing loudly, making everyone in the room jump.

"Commander! Major!" Foaly exclaimed trying to stand in front of the computer screen. Holly pulled the communicator out of her pocket and read the name. Heather. She groaned.

"I'll be right back," she said and answered the communicator. Trouble watched Holly leave and then turned his attention back to Mulch, Doodah and Foaly. All of them were standing in front of the computer screen.

"What?" Trouble asked.

"Nothing!" Foaly, Mulch and Doodah exclaimed together. Trouble raised an eyebrow at them.

"What's on the computer screen?"

"Nothings on the screen," Foaly said.

"I don't believe you." Trouble said. "Show me the screen." The three fairies exchanged glances. "Move Foaly." He said. Mulch and Doodah decided it was best to move away from Foaly before Trouble blew his top. They quickly took a few side steps and ran over to the other side of the room. "D'Arvit Foaly!" Trouble swore, "If you don't move right this second, I'm goanna dock your funds!" Foaly considered moving from in front of the computer, seeing as he really loved his funds. Trouble made up Foaly's mind for him by fingering his gun. He went to pull the gun out when Foaly jumped away from the computer. Trouble grinned as he put the gun back into its holster and walked up to the computer. His grin disappeared as soon as he realized what he was looking at. It was a picture of two elves kissing. He recognized the inside of his apartment. Trouble looked closer at the two elves. The elves looked familiar to him. Then it hit Trouble, like a pound of bricks. He was looking at a picture of himself and Holly! Trouble turned on Foaly, Mulch and Doodah. Mulch and Doodah were hiding near a door while Foaly was trying to hide, and was doing a horrible job at it. "Foaly!"

"Well," Foaly said, "Look at it this way Commander. You and Major Short make a cute couple." Trouble swore under his breath as he felt the color rising in his face. Suddenly the door behind Mulch and Doodah opened and Artemis walked into the room. He looked around at every person in the room. Mulch and Doodah were nearest to him and by the looks of it, trying hard not to laugh. Foaly had an expression of humor and fear mixed together. Trouble was glaring daggers at Foaly while his face was a deep red that looked like Root's. Artemis grinned as he put the pieces together.

"The Commander saw the picture didn't he?"

"Yes," Foaly said closing the program. Artemis chuckled.

"I told you not to show Mr. Diggums and Mr. Day the picture yet." Trouble groaned and sat down into a chair. Suddenly the door opened and Holly walked in Ops Booth followed by Butler and Myles.

"I'm back." She said sitting down next to Trouble. "Heather called to bother me."

"Heather?" Artemis asked sitting across from them.

"Holly's cousin," Trouble said looking up.

"Uh Trouble… why is your face red?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." He said avoiding Foaly's eyes. "Anyways, didn't you call us down here for a reason?" He asked looking over at Artemis.

"Yes. We believe we have found Jessie's location."

"Where?" Holly and Trouble asked together.

"Jessie is at one of the Paradizo Inc warehouses." Artemis said typing on a wireless keyboard. The big gas screen behind Mulch and Doodah came to life. It had a satellite picture of Europe with almost 100 red dots on it. "The red dots symbolize all of Paradizo Inc warehouses in Europe."

"And you want us to go through everyone of them until we find Jessie?" Holly asked.

"No," Artemis said while typing. About ¾ of the dots dissolved off the map. "These are the warehouses that are currently not being used." He typed in another command and the satellite picture zoomed in to Ireland. There were now about ten warehouses. Holly stood up from her chair and walked over to the map.

"How do we find Jessie in time? There are still a lot of warehouses to go through." She said turning to Artemis. He hand his vampire grin on. "What? What is it?"

"Major Short, you and Commander Kelp may not have to go to all of the warehouses." He said pulling out his cell phone. "I happen to have people who might know where to find Jessie."

"Artemis you don't have to make up excuses just so you can talk to your girlfriend." Foaly said teasingly. Artemis scowled at him as Holly chuckled lightly and Trouble smiled. He was happy that the 'cute couple' spotlight had been removed from him and onto Artemis. Artemis hit a button on his cell phone and put it up to his ear. The group couldn't hear anything. The only way they knew Minerva answered was from Artemis saying hello to her.

"Minerva. It's Artemis." He said. He paused as he waited for her reply. "I'm fine. But our fairy friends aren't." Artemis got up from the chair. "No. But they need your help." He smiled his vampire grin before answering her question. "It has come to my attention that you have about ten warehouses that are not being used in Ireland."

"It has also come to Artemis's attention that he is hopelessly in love with you," Foaly said as Artemis walked by him. He turned and glared at Foaly before answering Minerva.

"The LEP believes that some B'wa Kell members are-." He rolled his eyes. "I haven't told you about them yet because I haven't had time to. As I was saying, the LEP believes that they are in one of the warehouses holding a young elf hostage. Do you-." Artemis started to smile as Minerva finished answer his un-asked question. "Yes. That would be wonderful."

"What? Did she say that she would finally go see that movie with you?" Foaly asked. Holly, Trouble, Mulch, Doodah and Butler all laughed as Artemis turned a bright shade of red.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you Commander," Artemis said only loud enough for Trouble to hear him. "Nothing Minerva. Call me back as soon as you find out." He hung up and glared at Trouble and Foaly.

"Well?" Holly asked.

"Minerva said that she will check with her father and call us back when she has an answer." He said. "But she said it may take awhile so it should give you and Commander Kelp enough time."

"Enough time for what?" Trouble asked.

"To go and talk to General Sputa and Bric Fealed with Mulch and Doodah," Artemis said mater of factly. Trouble made an oh shape with mouth as he remembered why Mulch and Doodah were there for.

"Well we should get going then," Holly said as Trouble got up from his chair.

"Can we get some food before we leave?" Mulch asked walking over to the door. "I'm hungry."

"Your always hungry," Doodah pointed out as he followed Mulch to the door. Holly looked back at Trouble and rolled her eyes as they followed Mulch and Doodah out of Ops Booth. The small group made their way up to the situation to get a biscuit or something for Mulch to eat so they wouldn't have to listen to him complain.

"Hmmm…. Should I get a banana nut muffin or blueberry?" Mulch mussed aloud.

"Just pick one!" Holly, Trouble and Doodah snapped at him.

"TRUBY-POO!!" A voice squealed from behind the group. They turned around to see an elf wearing a long purple dress, with pink hair in a bun on top of her head running towards the group. Trouble's face paled.

"Uh-oh." Was all he could get out before the elf had him in a bear hug.

"My little Truby-kins!!" She said before covering his face in bright red lipstick kisses.

"Mother!" Trouble said trying to push the elf off of him. Holly bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing. Doodah had shoved a fist in his mouth and Mulch had a big smile on his face. Finally Mrs. Kelp released Trouble from the hug and held him out at arms length.

"Now let me have a look at my baby. Trouble Kelp, you look absolutely famished! You should really eat more food," she scolded. At this point of time, Mulch could no longer hold in his laughter and started laughing loudly. Holly smacked him upside his head to shut him up. Mrs. Kelp turned her attention to Holly. "Oh! And who is this? Trouble Kelp, your not hiding a girlfriend from me are you?" Trouble and Holly turned a very bright shade of red as Mulch and Doodah ran from the room trying to contain their laughter. Trouble wormed his way out of his mother's grip.

"No mother. This is not my girlfriend. She's my co-worker." Trouble said trying to save Holly from his mother.

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce us?" Mrs. Kelp asked.

"Holly this is my mother. Mom this is Major Holly Short."

"Major Short?!" Mrs. Kelp exclaimed. "Oh! You're the girl who was kidnapped by that Mud Boy!! And the you helped put down the goblin rebellion!! I remember that. My littler Truby-kins saved Grub and helped protect the council members!"

"That's the one," Trouble said trying to move towards the door. "Now we have to go interrogate some goblins mom. I'll call you later." He turned heel and pushed Holly out of the room and down the hall. "I'm so sorry Holly. I had no idea she was coming to visit."

"It's okay Trouble," Holly said turning around to him. She laughed lightly at Trouble's lipstick covered face. "Come here," she said taking his face in her hands. Holly whipped off the lipstick as best she could. She giggled. "I got most of it off, but you still have some red on your face. You look a bit like Root now." Trouble couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks Holly." He said taking her hands in his. Behind them was Mulch and Doodah trying not to say something about the couple. The moment would have lasted longer if Mulch hadn't had a sudden gas attack.

"UGH!! Mulch that is nasty!" Doodah yelled running over to Holly and Trouble.

"Sorry." Mulch said.

"We should get going," Holly said removing her hands and started walking towards the main lobby. Trouble grabbed Doodah by the scruff of his neck as Mulch ran ahead of them.

"How long were you two spying on us?" Trouble growled.

"Not long," Doodah replied. Trouble released his grip.

"You better not tell Foaly about it." He growled and went to catch up with Holly. The group went outside and got into one of the cursers. Holly beat Trouble to the drivers seat and forced him to take shotgun.

"Next stop Howlers Peak," Holly said grinning and floored the accelerator.

**_A/N: heehee. Bet you didn't see a visit from Trouble's mom coming did ya? lol. i shall update soon. i've also been working on a new story. so i'll try to post that soon_**


	8. Chapter 8: Back in Action

**_A/N: WHOOOAAAAHOOOO!! I update yet again!! lol. _**

**_Okay so i really like this chapter! Lots of action in this chapter. And there is a little gore part near the end, but nothing too bad. _**

**_But yeah this may be my last update for a while cuz my socail/school life is picking up again. I have switcher classes every tuesday until school ends. I'm helping with fall gaurd auditions. Exames are coming up. And I have to go to summer school cuz I just now got my learners perment and now I can't take the road test until the summer. Oh well. _**

**_Enjoy the update!!_**

Chapter 8: Back in Action

About twenty minutes later Holly pulled the cruiser up to Howlers Peak. She parked the car and got out.

"Looks as cheery as it did the last time I was here," she commented as Trouble, Mulch and Doodah got out of the car. Trouble chuckled.

"Almost as cheery as Tern Mor?" He asked walking around the front of the car. Mulch and Doodah looked at each other, not understanding what the two elves were talking about.

"No. I like Tern Mor better." Holly said leading the way into the prison. The small group walked in the prison and up to the front desk where a fat gnome was reading the paper. Holly cleared her throat.

"Can I help you?" The gnome said without looking up from the paper.

"We are here to talk to two goblins. General Sputa and Bric Fealed," Trouble said.

"You can visit Fealed if you want but I can't let you see Sputa." The gnome said turning the paper.

"And why is that?" Holly asked losing her patience.

"Only LEP can see General Sputa and the only way they can see Sputa is if Commander Kelp okays' it."

"Is that so?"

"Yup."

"Commander Kelp has to say it's okay to visit Sputa," Trouble mussed aloud.

"That's what I just said didn't I?" The gnome said.

"Well last time I checked he was the commander," Holly said jerking her thumb at Trouble.

"I was just thinking that myself Major Short," Trouble said. The gnome dropped his paper almost instantly.

"Commander Kelp! I had no idea you were coming by today," the gnome said jumping up from his seat. "Can I get you anything?"

"Yes," Holly answered for Trouble, "we would like General Sputa and Bric Fealed in a interrogation room." The gnome looked at her for a full five seconds.

"Now?" He asked. Holly rolled her eyes.

"No, next week. Yes now!"

"Yes ma'am!" The gnome saluted her and ran off to get the goblins. Trouble chuckled lightly.

"Way to freak the guy out," he said grinning.

"Thanks. I try." She said sarcastically.

"Try? You don't have to try to freak a person out. You do it all on your on with that death glare of yours." Mulch said. Holly looked down and glared at him. "Yeah, like that." This was responded by a smack upside the head from Trouble and Doodah. "You know you should really go see someone about your anger issues." He said rubbing the back of his head. The gnome ran back into the room.

"The goblins are being transferred to the third floor. They should be in interrogating rooms 1 and 5." He puffed.

"Thank you Private Hiscomes." Trouble said. The group went down a long hallway and got into an elevator. "So you want Sputa of Fealed?" Trouble asked as the elevator door opened to the third floor.

"I'll talk to Fealed," Holly said. The small group walked down the hallway. Interrogating rooms one and five were right across from each other. "Lets go Doodah." She said opening the door to interrogating room five.

"What do you want?" Trouble heard a voice say.

"Oh nothing really," Holly said holding the door open for Doodah. "I just thought I'd bring your old cell buddy by." She said closing the door.

Trouble looked down at Mulch. "You ready to see your old cell mate?" He asked Mulch.

"Do I have a choice?" He asked.

"No. Not really," Trouble said grinning. He opened the door to the room and motioned for Mulch to go in. He followed Mulch into the room and closed the door. "Hello General."

The goblin looked up from the table. It appeared that he would be shedding soon. "Commander Kelp," he growled. "What do I owe this surprise visit from you?" He turned his attention to Mulch. "And why did ya bring the dwarf for?"

"Don't you recognize your old cell buddy?" Mulch said sitting across from Sputa.

"Unfortunately I do," Sputa growled. "Your lucky these gloves are on my hands, other wise you'd be eating a fireball."

"Hey!" Trouble snapped at them. "Save the death threats for later. Right now I have some questions that I need you to answer."

About half an hour later Trouble hadn't gotten any of his questions answered. He groaned as Sputa grumbled about how he was missing lunch. Their was a knock on the door.

"What?" Trouble snapped. A nervous looking pixie stuck his head in the room. "Yes?"

"Uh… the prisoners need to go down to the canteen for lunch." He said. Trouble sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright," he said, "Get out of here Sputa." The general stood up from the chair.

"I thought you would never ask." He said and walked out of the room. Trouble and Mulch followed Sputa out of the room. Holly and Doodah were standing outside the door.

"Did you get anything from Sputa?" Holly asked as the group followed the pixie down the hall.

Trouble shook his head. "No. All I got was a headache." Holly chuckled lightly.

Mulch looked up at Trouble. "Hey Commander, can-."

"Can we get something to eat?" Doodah said in mock imitation of Mulch. "I'm hungry." Holly and Trouble laughed lightly as Mulch glared daggers at Doodah.

"I don't think you want prison food," Trouble said as they walked into the canteen. There was yelling and murmuring from the goblins around them. A goblin was walking down the isle and stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at Mulch for a full minute.

"Uh-oh," Mulch said paling fast.

"What?" Doodah asked. Suddenly the goblin threw has tray on the floor.

"YOU OWE ME MONEY DWARF!" The goblin yelled forming a fireball in his hands.

"D'Arvit." Mulch muttered running behind Holly and Trouble, both of which had their neutrinos out and pointed at the goblin.

"Put 'em out goblin," Trouble growled. Another goblin got up.

"Well looky here, it's Commander Kelp. I remember you when you were a hot shot captain." The goblin said walking over to the other goblin. "Now that I think about it you're the reason I'm in here." He said grinning and formed fireballs in his hand. Holly sighed. Things never went the way they were suppose to.

"Do what he said and put the flames out," She said. One of the goblins chuckled.

"I don't think so," he said tossing one of the fireballs up and down in his hand. Trouble shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then. More time to put on your sentence." He said.

"I think I could deal with that," the other goblin said before throwing the fireballs at Holly and Trouble. Doodah and Mulch ran out of the canteen as fast as they could as Holly and Trouble dove away from the fireballs. Unfortunately, one of the fireballs hit another goblin, who proceeded to make his own fireball and throw it. Soon the every goblin in the canteen was throwing fireballs at each other. Trouble fired off a few shots at one of the goblins. One of the burst hit the goblin and knocked him out. Holly was on the other side of the room fighting hand to hand and shooting her gun at some goblins. A goblin lunged at her but she blocked him with a powerful kick that sent him flying across the room. It was at this moment that a private LEP officer decided to walk into the room. He looked around the room.

"What the AHHHH!!" He yelled before hitting the ground to avoid a fireball. He pulled out a buzz baton and zapped the goblin closest to him. Holly jumped back a few feet to avoid a goblin's fiery fist. "What's going on here?" The elf grunted avoiding another fireball.

"Long story short," Holly grunted firing off a few shots, "my dwarf friend owes one of these guys money and all hell broke loose." She grabbed a tray that was on the table next to them and hit a goblin in the back of his head. "Isn't there suppose to be officers in here?"

"Yeah. But most of them are washouts, on probation or just out of the academy. They haven't really been out on the field before or they're to old to fight. So I'm guessing they all went running when this broke out."

"What about the ones on probation?"

"Not here," the elf said. Holly rolled her eyes.

"I could've told you that." She said aiming a punch at a goblin. He dogged her and threw a fireball at her. The ball just barely missed Holly. But it still burned her a bit. She grimaced as the pain shot up her arm. A moment later she could fell her magic heal the burn. There was a sudden crash as one of the tables went flying across the room towards Trouble. He dove out of the way and ran over to Holly and the other officer.

"We need back up," he said. Holly rolled her eyes.

"You don't say?" She said sarcastically and threw the tray she had in her hand. It flew across the room like a frisbee and it a gnome in the head. "Bulls eye," she said with a grin as the gnome hit the floor.

"Hello boys and girls," a voice said in Holly and Trouble's helmet. "The Mud Girl has knock off five possible warehouses and will call us back when she has more."

"Foaly, now isn't the best time," Holly grunted firing off a few shots.

"Oh really?" Foaly said grinning. "And why would that be?"

"Don't you have our cameras footage on screen in there?"

"Uh…."

Trouble growled. "Foaly if you don't delete that picture and pull our cameras up on that D'Arviting monitor I will personally make sure Lilli and Grub make it to the wedding reception!"

"Okay! Okay!" Foaly said quickly. "I'll pull up your video feed!" There was a clacking of keys and a sudden gasp. "What the hell is going on over there? I thought you went over there just to talk to a couple of goblins."

"We did," Holly said avoiding something that looked much like mystery meat, "Then things got out of hand."

"Really?" She heard the centaur say sarcastically.

"Will you just shut up and get us some back up!" Trouble yelled avoiding yet another fireball.

"Yessir." Foaly said before breaking the connection. Holly was back to hand to hand combat along with the other officer that was with them. Trouble kept on firing pulse after pulse at the crazy prisoners.

"Hey there crazy girly captain," a voice said from behind Holly. She swung her leg around only to find it caught in the hands of a freakishly huge gnome. "Or should I say major?" She attempted to pull her leg free but the gnome tightened his grip. He laughed and swung her around and threw her against a table. The table broke in half from the force of the gnome. Holly groaned. "You caused me a lot of money and time," he said placing a foot on her lower abdomen, "and it's about time I return the favor." He pulled off a piece of metal from the broken table and snapped it in half like it was a twig. Holly paled as she slowly went to reach for her gun.

Trouble looked around for Holly only to see her lying against a broken table with a look of fear on her face. He saw the gnome with two pieces of metal in his hands, both of which were very sharp. He aimed his gun at the gnome and fired. Unfortunately, the gnome decided to move at the last second and the burst ended up clipping him on the shoulder. The gnome howled and turned to face Trouble. This gave Holly just enough time to roll of the table and jump to her feet. The gnome turned back around to face Holly. He grinned. "Aw, don't runaway so fast," he said and slashed one of the metal poles down at her. She dove away from the gnome but not fast enough. He brought the pole back with a backhand swing and caught her right under her ninth rib. Holly gasped in pain as she hit the floor. The metal pole had cut through her tunic and the shirt underneath and left a deep and nasty gash. The wound started to bleed lightly as she laid down on the floor.

"Holly!" Trouble yelled firing off another pulse at the gnome. This time it hit him square in the back and knocked him out. Trouble ran over to Holly, jumping over the unconscious prisoners. "Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling down next to her.

"Ye," Holly started but gasped in pain again. _Why isn't my magic healing me?_ She thought as the blood started to run down her sides.

Trouble placed a hand over her wound. "Heal," he whispered. Blue sparks fluttered off his hand and around her wound, but the sparks refused to heal it. Trouble looked down at Holly with concern as the doors behind them were thrown open.

"FREEZE!" A voice yelled. All the remaining prisoners stopped movement at once. "You will all be escorted back to your cells and your lawyers will be getting a nice call from us as well. Along with a judge." The voice said as officers began to cuff and move the prisoners back to their cells. "Commander Kelp," the officer said walking over to them.

"Major Vein," Trouble said. Ash reached them and looked down at Holly.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Gnome," Trouble said bluntly as he grabbed a few napkins from nearby and applying them to Holly's wound. She yelped as he applied pressure to stop the bleeding. "Go get a medic in here. Now!"

"Yessir!" Ash said and ran out of the room. Trouble looked down at Holly again.

"Why isn't this wound healing?" he asked.

Suddenly something clicked in Holly's head. "Abbot," she gasped. Abbot had stabbed her above her ninth rib and his sword was enchanted. What if the enchantment never fully left her wound?

"What?"

"Abbot…." Holly said. Her brain wasn't allowing her mouth to form words.

"Major Short?" Trouble asked becoming more concerned.

Holly struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Holly?"

She felt her brain shut down.

"Holly?!" Trouble yelled as Holly allowed the darkness to swallow her vision.

**_A/N: heehee. I left you on a cliffie!! LMAO! but I told you this was an awesome chapy!! Chapter 9 will be up as soon as I can post it. please reveiw!!_**


	9. Chapter 9: Enchantment

**_A/N: WOW!! Two updates in a day!! YAYZ!! I'm gonna be getting such a bad grade on that history Homework and project! lol. i don't really care. I have tomorrow to do it. lol._**

**_I'm sure that if/when my friend sees this chapter she will say this really loud, yet again. So I shall beat her to it. "ELF SEX!" All will be explained. lol._**

**_NOW READ!! lol_**

Chapter 9: Enchantment

"Holly?!" Trouble yelled. He slipped her helmet off of her head and placed two fingers on her neck. He found her pulse quickly and let out a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding.

"Over there!" Ash yelled as he ran back into the canteen followed by a medic. The medic ran over and kneeled down next to Trouble. He pushed Trouble's hand out of the way and removed the blood stained napkins.

"Why isn't her magic healing her?" Trouble asked as the medic examined the wound. The elf looked up at him.

"She has magic?" He asked as his face paled.

"Yes," Trouble said, "I even tried to heal the wound myself."

"I was afraid of that." The elf said shaking his head.

"What?"

"The only thing that can stop a healing is an enchantment of some sort." The medic said.

"Well can you heal her?" Trouble asked brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Yes. We can heal her the old fashion way. But it will hurt like hell." Trouble nodded his head. "All right. If I'm going to heal her we need to move her to the med bus."

"I got her," Trouble said and scooped Holly up into his arms. She let out a small groan as Trouble followed the elf outside. The elf opened the door and ushered Trouble and Holly inside the bus. The med bus was about twice the size of a regular Mud Man ambulance.

"Lay her down on the table," the medic said closing the door. Trouble did as he was told and carefully laid Holly onto the table. "Good. Now I need you to leave." Trouble glare at the medic. "Or you can stay. Your choice."

"I'll stay."

"Good choice," the medic, whose name turned out to be Parrie. "I need to see the wound without any obstacles, so we need to remove the tunic and the shirt." He said reaching for Holly's tunic zipper. Trouble smacked Parrie's hand away.

"That's not a good idea."

"I have to see the cut."

"I know," Trouble said, "I'm just saying it's not the best of ideas for you to do it yourself."

"And why is that?"

"You haven't met Holly have you?" Trouble said with a grin. "The last guy who did that ended up getting punched in the face.

* * *

A few miles away Artemis scowled at the monitor remembering how he'd saved Holly's finger by doing that. And she had repaid him with a punch to the face.

* * *

Trouble unzipped Holly's tunic and slipped it off of her.

"Now the shirt." Parrie said rummaging through some draws behind Trouble. He turned to face the medic.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" He asked before slipping Holly's shirt off. Trouble noticed a scar above the gash she recently got. _Where did that come from? _He thought.

"No," Parrie said returning next to Holly's side. "Just trying to save her." He pulled out some white pads and poured a clear, fowl smelling liquid onto it. He placed it on Holly's wound and began to clean it.

Whatever the liquid was, it did something to make Holly wake up.

"Agh!" Holly yelled in pain and tried to sit up, which caused her to yell in pain again.

"That's not a good idea," Trouble said pushing her back down.

"What's going on?" She groaned.

"I'm trying to do what your magic isn't doing and heal you," Parrie said as he continued to clean the wound.

Holly realized that her shirt and tunic were missing. "Where are my cloths?" She growled.

Trouble pointed at Parrie. "He told me to do it." He said. Holly rolled her eyes at him. Parrie threw the pad down and pulled out an odd looking needle and a dark blue colored thread.

"Your going to give her stitches?" Trouble asked.

"Not just any stitches," Parrie said tying the thread to the needle, "this is a special type of thread. It should work against any enchantments and allow me to heal the wound with that." He pointed at a small bottle with bright orange liquid in it.

"What's in it?" Trouble asked as Parrie grabbed a brown liquid and wiped it on Holly's cut. She gasped and grabbed Trouble's hand.

"A special type of magic." Was all the medic said before he started to stitch up Holly's cut.

"Ah!" Holly yelped in pain. Trouble held her hand tighter and bent his head down next to hers.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered into her ear. "I'm staying right here." Holly nodded her head. It was all she could do without feeling sick. Parrie continued to stitch the wound up.

"All right I'm done," he said cutting the thread and tying it. Holly sighed and relaxed her death grip on Trouble's hand. Parrie quickly pulled out another white pad and poured the orange liquid onto it. "Now here comes the painful part." He said before applying the pad to the stitches.

"The painful pa-," was all Holly could get out before Parrie placed the pad against her, causing her to scream in pain. She held Trouble's hand tightly. "It burns," she gasped.

"It's going to be okay Holly," he whispered into her ear. "I'm right here. I'm not leaving you." Parrie removed the pad and placed his hand on the stitches.

"Heal," he said allowing his magic to attack the stitches and the gash. His magic and the orange liquid combined to make a dark green color. Holly gasped as the burning feeling was replaced by an icy cold feeling. After a minute or so Parrie removed his hand. "All most done," he said pulling a syringe and a small vile.

"What's that?" Holly asked, not sure if she could handle anymore pain.

"I need to give you a shot. It'll be painless and it will also knock you out for a few hours so your body can regain its strength." Parrie looked over at Trouble. "She needs to go home and rest for a few hours. So no missions just yet," he said putting the needle of the syringe into the vile. "And from the looks of it, you may want to get some rest too Commander." He pulled the needle out of the vile with a small pop.

"Is that going to knock me out right away?" Holly asked releasing Trouble's hand.

"Not right away. It'll take a few minutes to kick in."

"Okay. Then can I please have my cloths back before you knock me out?" She said trying to sit up.

"Sure thing." Trouble picked up Holly's shirt and tunic and handed them to her.

"Thanks," she said taking the shirt and gingerly put it on. She looked down at where the shirt was ripped only to see smooth skin.

"Ready?" Parrie asked holding the syringe up. Holly rolled her sleeve up.

"Like I have a choice," she said. Parrie stuck the needle in her arm and quickly ejected the contents into her blood stream. He pulled it out and allowed Holly's magic to heal the pinprick wound. "Thanks."

"Sure thing," Parrie said opening the door to revel Mulch and Doodah standing outside, pacing. "No do me and yourself a favor, go home and get some rest. You too Commander."

"I don't need to," Trouble said. But as soon as the words left his mouth he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He stepped down from the bus and then help Holly down. The medicine was already starting to effect her.

"Are you okay?" Mulch asked with his mouth full of something, what it was Holly had no idea.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Holly said and started walking to the car. About five steeps later she felt the medicine take over her body, not allowing her to move. Trouble was by her side with his arm around her waist in a flash.

"Medicine kicking in?" He asked helping her walk.

She nodded her head. "I'm having trouble walking," she said, her words slurred a little bit. Without another word, Trouble scooped Holly into his arms once more and carried her to the car. Holly tried to open her mouth to object but found that her brain was refusing, yet again in the past hour, to allow her to form words.

"Doodah your driving," Trouble said as Mulch opened the door for him. He put Holly in the car first and got in after her.

"Oh no." Mulch groaned as Doodah jumped in the air and jumped into the drivers' seat.

"Police Plaza?" Doodah asked as Mulch got in the car and tied the seatbelt across his chest.

"No, Major Short's apartment," Trouble said.

Holly tried to make some sort of noise to state her objection but couldn't. Her head started to feel heavy as Doodah pulled out of the parking space. She laid her head down and allowed it to come to rest with Trouble's shoulder. The last thing Holly remembered before falling asleep was a gentle hand brushing her hair out of her eyes. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of something sweetly strong, yet manly. Holly grinned to herself enjoying the smell. She breathed the scent in again before allowing sleep to overcome her.

**_A/N: so this should be my last update for the day. I think. I have to go to the living hell AKA the BINGO hall and work. So unless I write the next chapter in the next two hours, you won't see an update untill... idk, maybe later this week or tomorrow. Reveiw plz!_**


	10. Chapter 10: Street Racing

**_A/N: HEY!! I'm back. Sorry I took so long. I was super busy this week. i had to work fall gaurd auditions. But while I was helping with that I had to start learning riffle stuff. And I ended up wacking my arm with it so now there is a ginormous bruse on my left arm. _**

**_Lets see what else... Oh yeah. i also hurt my back on tuesday. i have no ide what I did but all I know is that it hurt like hell this week. _**

**_Enjoy the update!!_**

Chapter 10: Street Race

Trouble looked down to see Holly fast asleep against his chest. He swore for a minute that he saw her grin in her sleep as he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Aw! How cute." Mulch said with a huge grin. Trouble glared at him for a full ten seconds. "Geez, you and Holly with your death glares." Suddenly the car took a hard, sharp left turn that made Trouble lean towards the right, almost landing on top of Holly. "What the hell was that all about?!"

"Sorry, almost missed the street," Doodah said coming to a full stop. A sleek purple car with flames on it pulled up next to them. The elf in the passenger seat looked out the open window and saw Doodah. His face broke into a smile.

"Hey Steve! Look whose out on the streets again." The elf said. The pixie in the seat next to him looked at what the elf was talking about.

"Doodah Day," Steve said grinning. "Well it's been a long time since I've seen you around here."

"Yeah. I know," Doodah said uneasily.

"I've heard that you've been a good boy lately. You know, not racing or anything." Steve said.

"Must be his new friend," the elf said eyeing Mulch. Luckily the back windows were tinted, so Steve and his friend couldn't see the commander or Holly.

"What's with the dwarf?" Steve asked.

"He's my new partner."

"Partner?"

"Yes, partner. That's what I said didn't I?" Doodah growled gripping the wheel tightly.

The elf glared at Doodah. "You know what Steve; I don't like this punks tone."

"I agree with you Rex. Mr. Day's tone is very hateful." Steve said with a small frown. "I might have to call Benny up. You do remember Benny don't you?" Doodah's face paled and Steve smiled widely. "Oh, so you do remember Benny."

"Yeah, I remember him," Doodah said weakly.

Rex pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "Should I call Benny?" Steve opened his mouth to answer him when Doodah shouted out.

"Race me!"

"What?" Steve and Rex asked.

"Race me. From here towards the outskirts of Haven. You know the track," Doodah said quickly. Steve smiled widely; he knew the track Doodah was talking about. The course was one of Havens most dangerous courses. It had sharp turns and tight spaces to drive through. Along with a small strip that went right by Police Plaza. Doodah had driven on this course once before. His car was badly beaten up and he had almost crashed five times. Not to mention that he got arrested on the way home because his taillights were out.

"Okay. You're on. If you win, I won't call Benny and I'll give you few thousand dollars."

"And if he loses?" Mulch asked.

"I get your car." Steve said with a smile.

"Deal." Doodah said and rolled his window up.

"Are you crazy?!" Trouble and Mulch yelled at the same time.

"No. I just don't wanna see Benny again," Doodah said drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Last time I talked with him things didn't go over well."

"I wonder why?" Trouble muttered pulling a seatbelt over himself and Holly.

Suddenly the light turned green and Doodah floored the gas, causing Mulch and Trouble to yell out in fear. The car went from zero to around 120 in a few seconds. Steve and Rex were right next to Doodah and were slowly inching their way forward. Doodah gritted his teeth as they came up to the first turn. He turned the wheel sharply to the left then to the right. Mulch yelled again and grabbed onto his seat for dear life. Steve shot past Doodah and sped ahead.

"Oh no you don't." Doodah growled and shifted gears. He sped up and got on Steve's tail. In front of him, Steve swerved and took a hard turn to the right. "D'Arvit!" Doodah swore narrowly avoiding another car.

Trouble grabbed onto Holly to protect her head. "Are you trying to kill us?!"

"Me? No. But Steve might," Doodah said pulling up beside Steve's car.

"Look out!" Trouble yelled pointing out the windshield. Doodah looked ahead a few yards and saw that they were coming up on a small alleyway. He floored the gas and shot passed Steve and pulled in front of him. They drove down the skinny alleyway and shot out of the other end. "Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"No." Doodah grunted trying to stay ahead of Steve. He sped up some more trying to stay ahead of Steve. "Uh-oh."

"What now?" Mulch asked trying his best to keep his food in his stomach.

"We're getting ready to pass Police Plaza."

"Why is that bad?" Trouble asked.

"Well this is the part of the track where most people win or lose by default."

"And why is that?"

"Well this is also the part of the track where a lot of LEP Wheelies hang out. They know it's a race track but they also know not a lot of people race on it." Trouble's face suddenly became pale.

"You didn't really answer his question," Mulch pointed out as he slowly turned greener.

"Yes he did," Trouble said. "I remember being told about the back road. The really desperate wheelies who wanted out of traffic would come back here and nab the street racers and the drug dealers that used this back road."

"Exactly." Doodah said as he turned sharply. Steve was slowly catching up on him. "This was the first place I got busted actually."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Trouble said as Doodah picked up the speed. They sped down the straight road with Steve on their tail. Doodah looked ahead and saw exactly what he was hoping not to see.

"Wheelies." He muttered. This was bad for many reasons. One, Doodah couldn't afford to get nabbed for racing again. If he did then he would have to spend a few thousand years in prison. Two, Commander Kelp was in the car with him, along with a sleeping Major Short. If they were pulled over and the wheelies saw them in the back of the car, then they could kiss their jobs in the LEP goodbye. Doodah knew he had a full ten seconds to make a decision. He made his choice and slammed on the breaks almost sending Mulch, Trouble and Holly through the windshield as Steve shot past them.

"What are you doing?!" Trouble yelled as Mulch opened the door to allow his food to land on the street and not the inside of the car.

"Winning this race," Doodah said with a grin as a wheelie came out of nowhere and proceeded to pull Steve and Rex over to the side of the road. He smiled widely as he started moving again but at the right speed this time. "Morning officer," he said out the window to the officer asking for Steve's license. The officers nodded and then started walking back towards his cruiser. Steve treated Doodah to a death glare. "You know where the money goes," Doodah said and sped off.

* * *

Sometime later Doodah came to a screeching halt outside of Holly's apartment. Mulch had a death grip on the seat he was sitting on and Trouble had to hold Holly in order to keep her from getting hurt. Trouble unbuckled himself and Holly and opened the door.

"Want us to wait?" Doodah asked.

"No," Trouble said, carefully lifting Holly from the car. "Go back to the Plaza."

"Okay," Doodah said without objecting and sped away back to the Plaza. Trouble watched Doodah drive away. He watched until Holly let out a small groan. He looked down to see Holly nuzzle her face against his chest. Trouble felt his heart jump to his throat. He took a breath and turned to take her inside the house. Trouble opened the door without putting Holly down and took her to her bedroom. Trouble laid Holly down onto the bed carefully; he stood there for a moment, watching her sleep. _She looks so peaceful, _Trouble thought sitting down at the foot of the bed. Suddenly Holly grinned in her sleep and rolled over. _I wonder what she's dreaming about. _He thought trying to get up from the bed. Trouble felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. _Maybe I'll just lie down for a minute._ He thought lying down next to Holly on the bed. Within minutes Trouble was fast asleep on the bed next to Holly.

**_A/N: So there is Chapy 10. just so you know. yes I have done street racing before. And to tell you the truth it is soooo much fun to go that fast!! lol. _**

**_so yeah. plz reveiw and maybe I'll update. LOOL!! _**

**_P.S. I gots blue in my hair now!!_**


	11. Chapter 11: Surprise Phone Calls

**_A/N: YES!! I Finally updated!! MWAHAHAHAHHAH!! This is my longest chapter EVER!! with out the A/N it's a grand total of 2,804 words!! YAY!! _**

**_Sorry I've been slow on the update. School and stuff ya know? _**

Chapter 11: Surprise Phone Calls

Holly was running through a maze of wooden boxes. She took a right turn only to find a dead end. She cursed and turned around and started running the opposite direction. Holly had no idea where she was going or what she was looking for, but she knew that it was important. She spotted a box sticking out enough for her to climb onto and get to the top of the maze of boxes. Holly clambered onto the box and quickly climbed to the top. She turned around slowly taking in scenery around her. There was a bright light to her far right. Holly squinted and just barely made out a few shadows. _Someone is over there_, she thought quickly and started sprinting in the direction of the light. Holly slowed down to a light jog as she came closer to the light. Suddenly voices were audible.

"If you thought you could trick me Commander Kelp, then you've got another thing coming." A cold voice said. Then there was a sound of something electric and a loud, painful scream. Holly looked over the edge of the boxes and saw Trouble lying on the ground. He was clutching his stomach in pain. There was a hooded figure standing over him with a softnose pointed at him. "Goodbye commander." The figure said leveling the gun with Trouble's head before pulling the trigger.

* * *

Holly's eyes shot open as she bolted up into the sitting position. She gasped for air, trying to shake the images of her dream from her head. Holly closed her eyes again and laid back down again. She shivered as the cool air of her AC reached her. Holly reached behind her for a blanket but didn't find it. She rolled over to see a snoring Trouble lying on top of her blanket. Holly rolled her eyes then shivered again. She moved next to Trouble and nuzzled her head against his chest. She breathed deeply and smelled something familiar. It was sweetly strong but manly. Suddenly memories from earlier came washing over her. The prison, the fight, her healing. Holly felt another wave of exhaustion wash over her just from remembering all that had happen that day. She felt her eyes begin to close when something started to ring. It took her a moment to realize it was her house phone ringing. Holly reached over Trouble and picked up her phone.

"Hello?" She whispered.

"Hey Holls! I've been trying to get a hold of you all day." A voice said rather loudly over the phone.

"Heather, could you please keep it down. I just woke up," Holly whispered looking down at Trouble, making sure he hadn't woken up.

"Sorry. I should have guessed that when I called your office and no one answered," Heather said lowering her voice. "So how has your first day back at work been?"

Holly smiled. As much as they acted like they hated each other, Holly and Heather were actually very close. But what Heather had said made her curious. She turned to the clock on her bedside table. It was just a little after eight in the morning. "Frond, it's been that long?" Holly mused aloud. "Heather I'd love to tell you how my day has been but I really have to go."

Heather sighed. "Okay. Hey have you been on any cases since you got back?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well… there was this story on the news about a crazy fight between some inmates at Howlers Peak and some LEP officers."

Holly couldn't help but grin. "You heard about that huh?"

"Yes. They said that a goblin attacked a pair of LEP officers and that one of them was seriously hurt in the fight."

"Seriously hurt? Pfft, it was hardily a scratch," Holly said rolling her eyes.

"I'm guessing you're the one who got hurt," Heather said grinning. Holly smiled but didn't say anything. Heather laughed. "That had Major Holly Short written all over it."

"I guess it did," Holly laughed. "Well I need to go."

"Why? You gotta hot date?" Heather said teasingly.

Holly looked down at Trouble. "I guess you could say that."

"Really?! Who?! Is it that really cute commander of yours?" Holly rolled her eyes again. Sometimes Heather could take things a little too seriously. "Oh! Maybe we could have a double date! You and the commander and me and my boyfriend!"

"Speaking of boyfriends, when am I going to meet yours?" Holly asked.

"Soon. Real soon. Have I told you that he's in the LEP?"

"No, you haven't told me that."

"Oh, well now you know. But you'll meet him soon. He's taking me to the LEP Christmas Ball."

"That's nice," Holly said, "Now I really need to go."

"Okay. Have fun on your date!" Heather said cheerfully before hanging up. Holly rolled her eyes.

"So who is this hot date of yours?" A voice asked suddenly. Holly jumped a good foot in the air and let out a squeak. She looked down at Trouble to see him looking at her with one eye open and a very amused look on his face. "Did I scare you?" He asked with a small grin on his face.

Holly glared at him. "What do you think?"

Trouble couldn't help but laugh at the look on Holly's face. She gave him a 'playful' punch on the arm. "Ow."

"Wimp," Holly said getting off of the bed.

"Am not," Trouble said following suit.

"We need to get going." She said ignoring his comment. "It's almost eight thirty." Trouble ignored this and grabbed Holly by the waist. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Still think I'm a wimp?" He asked, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

"Yes," she said with a grin.

Trouble spun Holly around and pinned her against the wall. "Fight me," he whispered. She grinned at him and knocked him to his feet as her answer.

Holly leaned over him. "Bring it." Trouble smiled at her before knocking her to the ground next to him.

* * *

Artemis was sitting in one of Foaly's chairs, slowly starting to drift off to sleep while Foaly was typing away at his computer when Mulch announced his return to the booth for the third time with a rather loud belch. Foaly looked over at the dwarf as the door shut behind him.

"Must you do that every time you come in here?" Foaly asked.

"Yes," Doodah and Mulch said in unison. Foaly rolled his eyes and returned to his computer. Mulch waddled over to Artemis and sat down next to him with a plop. "'Sup?"

"'Sup is not a greeting Mulch, it's what you do at the dinner table. But if you really want to know what's up, then a few tons of earth," Artemis replied without opening his eyes.

"Well aren't we the funny one," Mulch said picking crumbs out of his beard.

The group sat in the room in silence.

'_**I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven' **_

Artemis's eyes flew open and he reached across the table to pick up his phone. "Yes?" He asked as Foaly snickered behind a hand.

"Who is he talking to?" Doodah mouthed to Foaly.

"Minerva." He mouthed back smiling.

Artemis glared at them for a full ten seconds before a grin started to spread on his face. "Are you sure?" He asked, excitement shining in his eyes. "Yes, I'll tell them. Give me a call when you've narrowed it down and we'll be up there soon." He said and hung up.

"Nice ring tone," Mulch noted with a smug grin.

Artemis ignored him and stood up. "Minerva narrowed it down to two warehouses."

"What was the name of your ring tone for her?" Doodah asked.

"Your Guardian Angel," Foaly said picking up a phone.

Artemis glared at him. "And how do you know this?"

"Trouble and Holly wrote it a few decades ago." Artemis looked at him in disbelief. Foaly laughed at his expression. "How do you think some of the mud man bands get their songs?"

"I like that other song they did," Mulch said remembering the band Holly and Trouble were in.

"Which song would that be?" Foaly asked.

"The one they sang a few years back at the LEP Christmas Ball."

"Oh yeah. I like that song too." Foaly said smiling. Artemis opened his mouth to ask what they were talking about when the phone in Foaly's hand started ringing. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. "Hey! I was just thinking about you," he said sitting down. Doodah and Mulch groaned as they heard the voice on the other end. "Oh you found a dress!"

Artemis raised an eyebrow at them. "Who-?"

"He's talking to his fiancé," Doodah said sitting down.

"Pull a chair up," Mulch said pushing a chair over to Artemis, "We could be here awhile."

* * *

Trouble fell to the floor again with a thump. He felt pressure on the small of his back as Holly pinned him down with her knee as she held his hands back to keep him from getting up.

"Five, four, three, two, one," Holly said somewhat breathlessly. "Hmmm…. What to ask, what to ask."

Trouble rolled his eyes as he waited for her to ask her question. They were playing a game that they had learned back at the academy. If you pinned your opponent for five seconds then you got to ask them a question and they had to answer. Holly suggested that they played it when they almost broke a lamp.

"Okay," Holly said relaxing her grip a little, "Did you seriously think that Root went through _all_ of Grub's complaints?"

Trouble sighed as he felt color rise to his face. "Yes. He didn't have anything better to do most of the time."

Holly laughed as she released him and got up. Trouble glared at her as he stood up and prepared himself for another round of sparring. "Ready?" He asked. Not waiting for an answer, Trouble lashed out with a punch followed by a spin kick.

Holly blocked the punch but got hit with the kick. She moved back some and dropped to the floor as Trouble tried to kick at her again. She kicked out her leg and spun around trying to knock him to the floor again. Trouble had been expecting this and jumped over Holly's leg. She sprang back up to her feet and blocked another punch from him. She grabbed his arm and attempted to throw him over her hip. Trouble grinned as he knocked Holly to the ground and held her arms above her head.

"Five, four, three, two, one," he whispered into her ear with a smile. Trouble thought for a moment what to ask her. He looked at Holly, wondering what he should ask her. He saw the rip in her shirt from earlier that day and saw a scar. "What happened to you that gave you that scar?" Trouble asked quietly.

Holly opened her mouth to answer him when she realized what Trouble had just said. She closed her mouth and gave him a look. "What?"

"What happened to you that gave you that scar," Trouble asked pointing at the rip in her shirt.

Holly bit her lip. _Should I tell him? _She asked herself. She closed her eyes and sighed knowing the answer. "It's a long story," Holly said quietly.

"We have time," Trouble said relaxing his grip on Holly.

She sighed again. "Okay. But I think the floor isn't the best place for me to tell you," Holly said preparing herself mentally.

Trouble nodded his head and helped Holly to her feet. They walked over to the couch and sat down. Holly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You okay?" Trouble asked putting an arm around her shoulders. Holly nodded her head and began to tell Trouble what had really happened on Hybras.

Twenty minutes later Holly got to the part of her story that she was dreading to tell. "There was a powerful magical surge and I lost my train of thought. Abbot used the surge to his advantage and stabbed me with his sword," Holly said trying to keep her voice from breaking. "He told me that he had put many enchantments on the sword and that no magic could help me."

"Then how…."

"There was a time jump and Artemis used it to his advantage," she said.

The pair sat there for a long time, neither of them talked. Trouble opened his mouth a few times to ask something but closed it again. Holly stood up and turned to him. "Come on," she said lowering her center gravity.

Trouble looked her over. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"I just found out that you died and you expect me to spar with you?"

"Uh…yeah."

Trouble stood up from the couch. "No," he said simply.

Holly looked at him bluntly. "No?"

"Holly I just found out that you, my best friend, died during the three years you were missing. If I was you I'd be thanking Frond that I'm alive," he said giving her a sad look. "Aren't you grateful that you're alive?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you want to fight?" Trouble asked taking a step towards her. Holly lowered her guard and shrugged. "Why didn't you tell me the truth in the first place?"

"Because I was afraid," Holly snapped at him looking up with fierce eyes. "I was afraid that everyone would treat me different. That people would look at me as some lucky person who got a second chance to live and not just me. Not the real me."

Trouble took another step towards Holly and held out his hand. "Holly, you know I could never do that to you. I could never look at you any differently than I do now." Trouble wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Holly didn't push away or hug him back.

"Then what do you see now?" Holly asked.

Trouble pulled away and looked down at her. "I see…." He looked Holly over and thought of all the things that he loved about her. "I see a women who is greater than she thinks she is. She is funny, smart, strong and beautiful. She has amazing eyes that were the first thing I noticed about her."

Holly looked up at him. "You really see all of that in me?"

"Yeah I do," Trouble said smiling down at her. "They're the things I-." A loud ring interrupted him. Trouble pulled out his phone to answer it. "Hello?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOUR SISTER IS PREGNET?!" A voice screamed through the phone.

"Ma, it slipped my mind."

"I'm going to be a grandmother and you're going to be an uncle and you forgot about it?!" Mrs. Kelp yelled through the phone.

Trouble pulled the phone away from his ear. "We had a situation."

"Yes! Yes, you do and it's that we have another Kelp coming into the world!"

Trouble rolled his eyes as his mother started ranting on about Lili and Grub's baby and how she would have to start planning a family reunion. Holly gave him a small smile and mouthed 'sorry' to him. He grinned at her and mouthed 'not your fault' back to her. "Mom I have to go," Trouble said quickly.

"Go? What do you mean go?"

"Goodbye mom," Trouble said and quickly hung up the phone. Holly bit the inside of her cheeks to keep herself from laughing. "Go ahead and laugh," Trouble said chuckling. Holly laughed lightly along with Trouble.

Holly's phone started ringing. She sighed and answered it. "Yes?"

"Hiya Holls." Foaly said over the phone.

"Hey Foaly. What's up?"

"Nothing much except the mud girl found the warehouse the goblins are in."

Holly's face broke into a wide grin and she looked up at Trouble. "Really?"

"Yup."

"How sure is she?"

"We are about ninety-five percent sure," Artemis said taking the phone from Foaly.

"Okay. We'll be there soon," Holly said and hung up.

"What?" Trouble asked looking down at her with confusion.

"Minerva found the warehouse the goblins are in," Holly said breathlessly.

Trouble grinned at her. "Then why are we still here? Lets go." The pair grinned at each other again before running out of Holly's front door.

**_A/N: so there you go! chapy 11 of BIA!! lol. I'm going to try to post a new story I've been working on for ages!! but I always end up geting distracted by my other ff's. lol. _**

**_I'm going to try to update ALL OF MY FICS VERY SOON!!_**

**_Reveiew and I'll give you an awesome cookie! _**


	12. Chapter 12: Strategies

**_A/N: LOOK! Here it is!! the long awaited Chapter 12 of BIA! Now before you read the chapter read my short rant._**

**_So like many of the US peoples, I have read The Time Paradox already. (WHY?! Why did they have to kiss?!) And my head is going to explode if I don't get the ideas that I think will happen in the next book down. (that and I can't wait three years) So I am working on yet another FanFic! But, I won't Post the story, Double Trouble, until the day after TTp is released in the UK._**

**_I also have two other Fics in the works! I know what you're thinking, "She is going crazy with fics!" I'm trying not to go too crazy, but all these ideas pop into my head and I can't think strait until I have the ideas on paper. _**

**_Uh, I think this is the last thing I need to say before I let you go off and read this Chapter. I have a poll set up here on FF. And i need more people to vote!! BTW, thank you to the one person who voted. And Major Trouble cuz she told me her chose. Your vote will decide the future of 4 of my Fics! I understand if you haven't read them, so if you could take a quick look at them that would be great! But if no one votes... well... I'll sick my Trouble Kelp Plushie on you!! HAHA!! -Trouble Kelp plushie jumps out of no where with numb-chucks and hits self in head with them- ... Uh... Vote Please!!_**

Chapter 12: Strategies

Holly and Trouble sprinted down the streets of Haven towards Police Plaza. _Did Trouble mean what he said to me?_ Holly asked herself as she dodged a rather large pixie.

_Of course he meant it! _A voice said in the back of her mind. _Why else would he say those things?_

_I don't know. Maybe…. _A horrible idea hit her. _Maybe he is trying to get to Heather by using me. It wouldn't be the first time I was used to get to her._

_Pfft. Trouble would never do that to you. The truth of what he said was in his eyes and you saw it. _The voice said as Holly and Trouble turned around the corner before the Plaza. _Besides, Heather said she had a boyfriend._

Holly couldn't think of a come back to this comment as she followed Trouble up the steps and inside the Plaza. They walked through the doors of the Ops Booth a few moments later. A quick glance around the room showed Foaly standing in front of a computer screen, Butler sitting next to Mulch with a smug smile on and Doodah fast asleep on a small couch. "Nice of you to join us," Foaly said not tuning around from the computer screen.

"Anytime," Trouble said with a hint of sarcasm. "So, where are Jessie and the goblins?"

"On the Northwest coast of Ireland in the village of Barna." Foaly said pulling up a satellite picture of the small village.

"The warehouse is on the outskirts of the village and hasn't been used for a few months." Artemis said from the back of the room. He came into view carrying a very heavy Myles upside down. "Butler?"

Butler looked up at the child prodigy. "Give him here," he sighed holding out his arms.

Artemis was able to put Myles right side up before handing him over to Butler. Myles started to squirm his way out of Butler's hold. "I wanna see smelly man!" he complained before fully getting out of Butler's grip and running over to Mulch. "Smelly Man!" Myles yelled and jumped onto Mulch knocking over the chair he was sitting in.

"AGH!" Mulch yelled falling onto the ground with a loud crash.

Doodah sat up. "Huh? What'd I miss?"

"Get 'em off!" Mulch mumbled as Myles tackled him yet again.

Butler jumped out of his chair and pulled Myles off of Mulch. Myles struggled for a few seconds until Butler said the magic words. "If you calm down Juliet will get you some ice cream."

The small boy stopped all movement. "Really?"

"Yes," Artemis said helping Mulch to his feet. "But only if you sit in the chair like a good boy and not talk." Myles nodded his head and allowed Butler to sit him down on a chair. Artemis smoothed out the front of his suit. "Now, where were we?"

"A warehouse on the outskirts of Barna," Holly said sitting down next to Doodah on the couch.

"Ah, yes. Barna," he said as Foaly activated a holographic map of the village. He pointed at a large building on the far side of the village. "This is the warehouse. There are 5 ways to get in and out, 10 security cameras, 7 motion sensors, 4 sets of pressures pads and it's built on a solid rock foundation." Artemis said with a smug grin.

"So me digging in to get the elf is out," Mulch said looking a little put out.

"Yes."

"So how are we getting Jessie out?" Holly asked, stating the main problem.

"Well, there are two options that I can think of," Trouble said walking up to the map, "Even though I'm sure the Mud Boy has more."

Artemis gave Trouble a grin. "Ten to be exact," Trouble shot Artemis a glare, "But they would all take too long to set up. So please, carry on."

"Option one. We get the ransom money and start to order the release of the prisoners." Almost everyone in the room pulled a face at this option, including the commander. No one wanted some of Howlers Peak most dangerous goblins out and about. "Option two. We get set up a ghost operation to get Jessie out and nab the goblins." Trouble turned to Holly. "With Major Short leading Retrieval 1."

Holly's pointed ears quivered. "Me? Lead Retrieval 1?" Trouble nodded his head. "But what about you? You're not one to sit on the sidelines," she pointed out.

"I know that. I'm still coming along," he said as the doors to Ops Booth slid open. "Wing Commander Vinyaya, what brings you here?"

"You found the girl?" She said not beating around the bush.

Foaly pulled a face. "How-?"

"I had a hunch," Vinyaya said with a smile. "So what's the plan?"

"We were just discussing that," Artemis said before turning to Holly. "Well? What do you say Major?"

Holly's stomach was in knots as she looked around the room. Trouble was giving her a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the LEP officers that still held her responsible for the Koboi Incident four years ago. But if she failed… she didn't want to think about it. _Julius would do the same thing_, the voice in the back of her mind said. _He believed in you, so does Trouble_. Holly stood up from the couch and said two simple words with a grin. "Bring it."

Trouble smiled at her. "Well, I believe you know where the Retrieval bunks are. Why don't you go give 'em a wake up call? Wing Commander, go get some techies, tell them to prep one or two pods for a surface shot."

"Yessir," Holly said saluting him before leaving the room. Vinyaya nodded her head and followed Holly out of the room.

Trouble watched them leave before giving out more orders. "Foaly, get a portable Ops unit ready and head out. I want you at Tara by the time we are riding the hot shots." Foaly gave him a sharp nod. "Butler, call Myles's nanny or whoever. Tell them to meet you and Artemis at Tara to pick him up."

"Yessir," Butler said as he pulled out a slim cell phone.

Artemis turned to the commander. "We are coming with you I presume."

"Yes."

Artemis turned to Foaly. "So where is the portable Ops unit?"

"In the shuttle port. Why?"

"We are riding with you aren't we?"

Trouble started to laugh somewhere behind Artemis. "Ha-ha. No Mud boy, you're riding the hot shots with the rest of us."

"The hot shots?" Artemis asked. "Why do I have the feeling that the hot shots you are talking about doesn't have anything to do with that movie."

Trouble laughed again. "No it doesn't." he said turning to leave the room. "I hope you don't have any problems with high speeds and magma flares." Trouble said as he walked out of Ops Booth with a rather big grin on his face.

**_A/N: So there it is!! I'm working on the next chapter for Hidden Secrets right now. I'm going away this weekend so there will not be any updates then. uh... what else... oh yeah, don't forget to vote and reveiw!!_**


	13. Chapter 13: One of the Lucky Ones

**_A/N: YAY! A new chapter! YAY!! _**

**_So this chapter is leading into the action of the next chapter! WOHA!! lol._**

**_Other news: By popular demand, I will work on AAS next. And also by popular demand I will make a sequil to Artemis kissed a Fish. lol. _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Holly, Trouble, Artemis and Company. But I do own a flute, trumpet, my awesome show music and some cool band moves! lol_**

Chapter 13: One of the Lucky Ones

Artemis Fowl was not in the best of moods. He was standing between Major Holly Short and Butler, who was holding Myles, waiting for the titanium pod that would take them to the surface. From what Foaly had told him, riding the hot shots would make all the times he had ridden with Holly in a shuttle look like a Sunday stroll.

Commander Trouble Kelp walked up to the group. "It's our lucky day. One of the techies said that the new pods are ready to go."

Holly turned to him. "The new one with all the extra room?"

"Yup," he said as a large pod was being moved onto the line. A few minutes later the pod was ready for the group. "Let's go." Trouble said before stepping into the pod. Holly followed after Artemis, Butler and Myles were inside. Soon the pod was filled with the three humans and seven fairies with Holly at the wheel.

"Ready," Holly asked turning to Artemis, Butler and Myles. The three humans nodded their heads before Holly turned back around and gave the Techies the thumbs up.

Artemis couldn't help but think of a roller coaster Minerva had told him about. It was called Griffin and was located in the states. The ride had three rows of ten, was two hundred and five feet high with a ninety degree drop. According to Minerva, the car stopped on the ninety degree drop looking strait down for six seconds before dropping you. A great thrill, she had said. _I'd rather rider the roller coaster_, Artemis thought before the pod was dropped into the hot abyss.

* * *

"Again, again!" Myles said as the group got out of the pod.

"No. Not again," Artemis muttered as he got his footing back.

Holly laughed coming up from behind him. "What's wrong? Too much for you?" She asked playfully before jogging ahead. Trouble followed her with an amused face.

"So how was the trip?" Foaly asked as they approached the Ops shuttle.

Artemis glared at him for a full five seconds. "Okay, okay, leave the boy alone," Butler said walking up behind Artemis. "I'm going outside to wait for Juliet. Can you two behave for the five minutes I am gone?"

"Yes," the genii grumbled.

"Don't worry," Holly said standing between the genii, "I'll keep an eye on them." Butler gave her a small smile before leaving the fort.

"Okay, lock and load everybody!" Trouble said from behind the group. Retrieval 1 jogged into the Ops shuttle followed by Artemis, Foaly and Holly. Trouble stayed outside until Butler returned from giving Myles to Juliet. "Everyone is in and ready to go Major." Trouble said sitting sown next to her in the co-pilot chair.

Holly nodded her head while going through the rest of the system checks. Foaly stuck his head in between the elves. "Holly, please do me a favor and not damage my equipment during the flight."

"I'll try," was all she said before pressing the ignition.

* * *

"You'll try?!" Foaly yelled as Holly landed the shuttle. "You so did not try!"

Trouble pushed Foaly back into his seat. "Will you just chill?"

Foaly grumbled to himself as Holly ran a surveillance check. "We are about three hundred yards away from the warehouse," she said slapping her chest, releasing the seatbelt.

The commander nodded his head. "Right. Major Short, go in about one hundred fifty yards and stake out the warehouse. Run a thermal scan, see what you come up with and report back." Holly saluted him before cramming a helmet on her head and heading out the door. He turned his attention to the rest of the group. "Foaly, Artemis, set up shop. Retrieval 1, gear up."

The group mumbled, "Yessir," before doing their orders.

Someone tapped Trouble on the shoulder. "Can I talk with you?" Butler asked. "Soldier to Soldier?"

"Sure," the commander said leading the way outside. When they were far enough from the group he turned to face Butler. "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

Butler sighed and looked up at the full moon. "You're lucky you know."

"Lucky?" Trouble asked confused.

"Lucky," Butler repeated looking down at Trouble. He sighed again. "Listen, Commander, you and I both know how hard it is being a soldier. You're born one and always stay one. It becomes one of the things you only know how to do." Trouble raised an eyebrow. The wind blew from behind him, sending the dead leaves blowing around the two soldiers. "Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice. I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't become a soldier. How would Artemis go through with his plans? What I would have done for a job. Who would still be alive right now and who would be dead." Butler looked up at the moon again. "Would I have found someone to love? I think that that is the hardest part of being a soldier is. Not having someone to love. But some soldiers get lucky." He glanced down. "Like you."

"L-like me?" Trouble stuttered. "W-what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Butler said fiercely. "Trouble you have no idea how lucky you are to have her."

"Her?"

"You know who I'm talking about. According to Foaly it has been obvious for sometime now, it's just taken you two awhile to figure it out."

Trouble clenched his fist. Foaly, he should have known…. "I take it you've seen the picture."

Butler nodded his head. "Yes and I don't think you or Holly could have found a better person."

Trouble looked at the sky thoughtfully. There was a burst of static through his helmet. "Major Short is heading in with her report," Artemis said before cutting the link. Trouble sighed. "I need to gear up," he said lightly before walking past Butler to leave.

The man servant watched him leave shaking his head. _They'll figure it out soon enough_. He thought following the commander.

"What do you have for us?" Trouble asked walking up around the same time as Holly.

"From what I could see there are about fifteen goblins, split into five groups of three. Three of them are guarding an elf in a room to the West and the rest are going in rounds guarding different doors."

"That leaves one door wide open," One of the Retrieval officers said.

Holly shook her head. "Nope. The last door leads into the room Jessie is in, so technically they have all the doors covered."

Trouble groaned mentally. This was not good. Goblins aren't this smart. "Foaly, is there anyway possible that you can hack into the system?"

Foaly looked at him over a computer screen. "I'm not sure. We are trying to hack into the security system with no luck so far."

Artemis cursed from beside him. "The security system is shut down."

"Can't you start the system?" Holly asked.

The boy shrugged. "I don't know. It may be at out advantage that the system is off."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, they won't see you guys going in and that also means that cameras, motion sensors and the pressure pads are off." Artemis said looking up at the group.

Trouble nodded his head. "That works," he mumbled to himself. "Okay, here is the plan. Split up and surround the place. One, enter through the low windows on the North side. Two, enter through the door on the East side. Three, the door on the South side and Four, through the door to the North. Five, through the windows on the South side upper level. Major Short, through the roof. I'll be entering through the door on the West side. I want constant contact from all of you."

"Yessir," the group said quickly.

"I thought I was leading this," Holly said to Trouble out of the side of her mouth.

The sides of Trouble's mouth twitched. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Holly ignored him. "Okay team, let's move out!"

**_A/N: And they are under way!! OOHHH!! I wonder what happens next? Wait a minute... I do know what happens next. lol_**

**_Review and tell me if there are any songs that you would like me to do for the sequil of Artemis Kissed a Fish!!_**


	14. Chapter 14: Traps of Sorts

**_A/N: WOW!! Another update for this story!! COOL BEANS!! I know I said that i would update AAS next but... well I was in the zone with this story._**

**_So... lots of action in this chapter! YAY!!_**

Chapter 14: Traps of Sorts

Major Holly Short sprinted ahead of the group, with Commander Kelp on her heels. She zeroed in on Trouble's com link. "Commander, I'm getting a bad feeling about this." She said into her com link as they approached the building.

"I know. I'm getting the same feeling," Trouble said pulling up next to Holly. It was true. His soldier senses were pounding away at the base of his skull. He could almost hear someone saying, "What could possibly go wrong?"

Holly returned to the frequency Retrieval 1 was using. "When you get to your positions, hold them. Wait until I give the green light." She said activating her wings.

"Ten-four Major," came the replies of Retrieval 1 as Holly took off into the air.

She rose into the air for a moment before gliding over the roof of the warehouse. Holly landed gently on top of the roof top. "I'm in position. Statues report."

"One in position."

"Two, destination in sight."

"Three in position."

"Four, ready to go."

"Five in the air."

"On your signal," Trouble said pulling out his neutrino.

Holly pulled out her own neutrino and proceeded to cut a small hole into the roof, just big enough for her to slip through. She shielded before dropping through the hole and re-activating her wings. She scanned the warehouse a few times. "On my signal…," Holly said upping the setting on her gun. "Now!" Suddenly something crashed into her from behind, sending her down towards the earth.

* * *

As soon as the words left Holly's mouth, Trouble crashed through the door. "LEP! FREEZE!" He looked around the room only to see a hooded figure standing in front of him holding a remote. Trouble's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "Pull back! I repeat, pull back!" He yelled into his com link.

The figure in front of him laughed. "Don't bother Commander." The figure said in a cold voice. "No one can hear you. Not Major Short, Foaly or your little Mud Boy friend. It's just you and me."

* * *

Holly crashed into a pile of wooden boxes with a goblin landing on top of her. _It was a set up_, Holly thought as she hit the goblin in the face with the back of her head. Mass confusion had broken out all around her. One of the Retrieval boys was locked in a fierce hand to hand battle with another goblin. Another one was firing pulse after pulse at a small group of goblins. There was a loud crash somewhere behind here as someone crashed into the wooden crates that surrounded the group. Holly looked around for her gun. She found it lying on the ground about five feet from where she had landed and about six feet away from a goblin that was staring at it intently. The goblin looked up at Holly. They looked at each other for a full five seconds before making a move towards the gun. The goblin made a flying leap towards the gun as Holly ran full speed at him before sliding across the floor. She slid right under the goblin and grabbed the gun. The goblin hadn't thought his plan through and crashed face first into a wooden crate. Holly jumped to her feet about the same time a fireball went flying past her head and hit the wooden crates behind her, setting them on fire. _My first mission as Major and a Mud Man building gets caught on fire_, she thought shooting the goblin that had thrown the fireball. _Figures_. "Foaly! Artemis! Can you hear me!?" Holly yelled into her com link. Nothing. "D'Arvit! Retrieval 1 check in!"

A burst of static. Nothing. Then…. "One, outside. Four is knocked out."

"Three is out cold. A goblin hit him in the back of the head with a piece of wood."

"I'm hit, but I'll live."

Holly counted off in her head. "Commander Kelp?" Nothing but white noise. There was an explosion somewhere to her left. "D'Arvit! Okay, tag the goblins if you can and head out. I'm going to get Commander Kelp."

She didn't have to tell them twice. The Retrieval team grabbed their fellow officers and high-tailed it out of the warehouse.

* * *

Foaly, Artemis and Butler followed the group through their com links as they reached the warehouse. Holly had just given them the thumbs up when everything went out on them.

"What the-?" Foaly muttered as he tried to reboot the system.

"What happened?" Butler asked pulling his gun out.

Artemis looked over Foaly's shoulders. "Someone hacked your system and cut us off to the com links."

Foaly shook his head. "Not possible. There have only been two people to ever hack into my system."

"Opal Koboi and myself."

Butler cocked his gun. "I'm going in."

"No," Artemis said. "I'm sure Commander Kelp and Major Short can take care of themselves." That was when one corner of the warehouse exploded.

Foaly looked down at Artemis. "You just had to say it didn't you?"

* * *

"Now sleep commander," ordered the figure over top of him. Trouble felt his eyelids get heavy as the room got hotter and hotter.

There was a loud crash somewhere near by. "Trouble?!" _Holly_, he thought as the edges of his vision got darker.

* * *

Holly activated her helmets air filters as she ran through the maze of boxes. She locked on to Trouble's helmet and was racing against the flames to get to the room. She leaped over a case of flaming boxes that had fallen over. The door to the room was in front of her. Holly crashed through the door guns blazing. There were flames licking the walks of the room. "Trouble!?" Holly called out looking around the room. There! He was lying on the floor with a hooded figure standing over him. "Freeze! LEP! Put your hands where I can see them!"

The figure looked up at Holly. She tried to make out the face under the hood but the flames were making the shadows jumpy. "Until next time," the figure said before activating her wings and flying out of the windows above them.

Holly stared after the figure until something crashed behind her, bringing her back to the situation at hand. "Trouble." She ran forward and knelt down next to him. His helmet was missing, other than that he looked perfectly fine. Holly adjusted her weight so that she could wrap an arm around Trouble to hold him. She activated her wings and shot into the air and out the window.

* * *

Butler looked up into the sky. "Look!"

Foaly and Artemis looked in the direction he was pointing. A sprite in a black suit was flying towards them carrying someone.

"What happened?" Foaly asked as soon as the sprite was within ear shot.

"We were ambushed," the sprite panted laying his comrade on the ground.

"Ambushed? By who?"

"Goblins." An elf answered landing behind the sprite. Another elf landed behind him holding another officer.

"Where is Major Short and Commander Kelp?" Foaly asked.

"Major Short couldn't get contact with the Commander and went to look for him." The elf replied as he helped his fellow officer. "I wouldn't worry about them too much. They can take care-."

"Don't say it!" Artemis and Butler yelled.

"-Of themselves," the elf finished.

Suddenly another part of the warehouse exploded. Artemis ran a hand through his hair. "You had to say it."

* * *

Holly had just flown out of the window when the room exploded behind her, sending her and Trouble flying higher into the air. One of her wings snapped in half from the force of the explosion. She tried to use the one wing to guide them safely to the ground with no avail. Holly crashed into the ground full force. She felt one of her legs break as she and Trouble skidded across the ground towards Foaly, Artemis, Butler and Retrieval 1. Holly came to rest on top of Trouble's motionless body.

"Holly! Commander!" Foaly yelled as he galloped towards the pair with Artemis and Butler hot on his heels.

Artemis ran past Foaly and skidded to a halt on his knees next to Holly and Trouble. "Holly? Holly, can you hear me?"

Holly had enough energy left for one comment. "Artemis, you might want to call your girlfriend and warn that we destroyed something of hers again." Holly said weakly before passing out on top of Trouble.

**_A/N: Alrighty then! There was the new chapter! _**

**_So my poll is all tied up at the moment... all I need is one person to vote..._**

**_Reveiw plz? I mean, like 20 something people read the new chapter but I only got two reveiws... not cool. I feel like I'm failing ya'll! +gets teary eyed+ Reveiw?_**


	15. Chapter 15: Restraints

**_A/N: YAY!! Band camp is over and the USA is kicking butt at the Olympics. So to celabrate here is a new chapter!! YAY!_**

**_So this chapter is short... I really don't get why it's short cuz it took more pages on Word than the other two..._**

**_WOW!! 102 reviews for this story?! AWESOME!! So, I really have to thank everyone who has reviewed this story! You've kept me writing for over a year now!! Also, the people who have stayed with this story line since Homecoming! THANKS!! _**

Chapter 15: Restraints

"Artemis, you might want to call your girlfriend and warn that we destroyed something of hers again." Holly said weakly before passing out on top of Trouble. Artemis couldn't help but grin at he comment as Butler lifted the two fairies off the ground.

"We should get going before the fire department shows up," Butler said as he walked towards the shuttle.

"Good idea," Foaly said nodding his head. "Vein!" One of the elves in black turned at the sound of his name. "Your flying us back home."

Ash nodded his head once and ran into the shuttle. Artemis, Butler and Foaly followed closely behind him. "Where do you want me to put them?" Butler asked as the shuttle took off.

"There is a sick bay in the back of the shuttle," Foaly said nodding towards a door. "There's only one gurney in there, so they'll have to share."

Artemis smiled smugly. "Hope they don't mind," he mumbled as Butler took the two officers to the sick bay.

* * *

Trouble was down on the ground, gasping for air. "Give in commander," a voice said. "Give in and all the pain will go away." Trouble looked up for the source of the voice. There was a hooded figure standing in front of him. "Give up Commander Kelp or I will take over by force." The voice was cold and hard yet strangely beautiful. _It's trying to mesmerize me_. Trouble realized with a start. He shut his eyes. The figure laughed. "Oh, so you figured out that I'm trying to mesmerize you. Well guess what commander, I don't need eye contact. Body contact works just as well." Before Trouble could move an octo-bond attached itself to his chest, pinning his arms to his sides. The figure moved forward and grasped his head in between its hands. "Your will is mine." Trouble felt the energy leave his body as he started to succumb to the figures powers. He looked up into the figures green eyes. "Now here is what I want you to do…."

* * *

Holly woke up with a throbbing head ache along with a throbbing pain in her left leg. She groaned inwardly as she remembered what had happened. They were ambushed in the warehouse by goblins. They proceeded to throw some fireballs around and set the warehouse on fire. Then the explosion when she was flying out of there with Trouble. _Trouble_! Holly thought and snapped her eyes open. She glanced around at her surroundings. She was in the sick bay of the shuttle. Holly went to prop herself up on her elbows when she bumped into something. She looked next to her and saw Trouble fast asleep, with a look of confusion on his face.

The door to the sick bay opened and Artemis stuck his head in. "Oh good, your awake Major."

Holly turned her attention to her friend. "Where are we?"

"We're getting ready to land at the Tara shuttle port," he said walking into the room. "How's the leg?"

Holly slid off of the gurney and on to the floor. She took a few steps and shook her leg around in small circles. "A little sore but other than that it seems fine. How long have I been out?"

"Not long. About fifteen minutes or so," Artemis answered.

Foaly stuck his head in the room. "Is Commander... nope, still out." He looked at Holly, "But you're awake. Good."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Good? Why is that good?"

Foaly opened his mouth to respond when someone groaned. Holly turned around to see Trouble propped up on one elbow while rubbing his forehead with the other. "Ugh… What happened?"

She rushed over to the gurney. "Trouble? Are you okay?" Holly was barely able to suppress a gasp when he looked up at her. There was something different about him. Trouble's light green eyes that were usually filled with care, concern, determination or something else were now blank. Nothing was in his eyes.

"It's Commander or Commander Kelp, Short. Not Trouble," he said in a steely voice.

_Short? Did he just call me by my last name?_ Holly thought in disbelief. She wasn't the only one. In all the years of being friends with him, Foaly had never heard Trouble Kelp call anyone, beside Chix Verbil, out by their last name. He knew for a fact that it was one of his pet peeves.

Trouble got up from the gurney. "Now, What do you need Foaly?"

Foaly shook his head to clear his thoughts. "We just got another message from Nyel."

"Already?" Holly asked facing Foaly. He nodded his head solemnly.

"Well," Trouble asked pushing his way forward, "What are you waiting for pony boy? Show us the video."

Artemis watched the commander leave then looked back at Holly and Foaly. Both fairies had looks of confusion on their faces. _Something isn't right_…. Artemis thought before following Trouble.

* * *

About half an hour later the group was huddled around one of the many computer screens in the Ops Booth. Foaly pulled up a video file and pressed play. Nyel's image appeared on the screen. "Tsk, tsk. You honestly thought that you could save the elf by launching a ghost operation on us?" The goblin shook his head. "You should have just given us the money."

Trouble growled. "C'mon you stupid convict. What do you want?"

"I do hope you realize that I have to change our ransom now." The goblin said with a sly grin. "We still want the release of our brothers from Howlers Peak. You can keep your gold." Holly narrowed her eyes at the screen wondering what Nyel wanted instead of the gold. "Instead, we want one million ingots worth of weapons."

"What!?" Foaly yelled at the screen.

"One million ingots worth?" Holly repeated. She stared at the goblin on the screen, studying his blank eyes. _Blank eyes_? She thought. _He couldn't be……. Could he?_

"You can do this and we return the girl alive and un-harmed. Or you can do our request from before and we will just return her body. Your choice Commander Kelp." The picture fizzled out and went blank.

The room was quiet. Trouble sighed and broke the silence. "Foaly…."

"Commander, you can't seriously-."

"Yes I can!" Trouble snapped. "Just get the equipment ready while I fill out the release forms."

Trouble turned to leave when Holly called out after him. "Commander, may I ask you something?"

"Yes Major Short?"

"What is your favorite memory of the Academy?"

Everyone looked at Holly with confused faces. "Graduating," Trouble said without turning around and left Ops Booth.

As soon as the commander was down the hall and around the corner Foaly asked, "What was that all about Holly?"

Holly looked at him with a grim face. "I know for a fact that Trouble's favorite memory was our third year during spring break."

Foaly grinned. "I heard about that…. Root was fuming for days trying to find out who started that giant mud slide."

She gave him a small grin. "Guilty as charged. Grub hasn't touch alcohol since I believe…."

Artemis cleared his throat. "Major, would you care to tell us why that question is so important?"

"Trouble lied about the memory. He has never called me, let alone anyone else, out by their last name. And the only person who he got on their case about rankings was Grub." Holly pointed out. "Plus, his eyes were completely blank."

"What are you getting at?" Foaly asked.

Holly looked at each of her friends before replying. "That's not Trouble Kelp."

**_A/N: AH! So the plot is starting to form much more quickly now. _**

**_i know people have been asking for me to update my other stories, but I'm on a roll with this! I've had the last chapter of this story written since March I think. Now, everything is adding up quickly. If my math is right there are only... 6 or 7 chapters left._**

**_So I made some art work for this chapter. I'll post the link for it in one of the next chapters._**

**_Reveiw plz!_**


	16. Chapter 16: Summer Stories

**_A/N: YAYZ!! Look! An update! lol. _**

**_So, yeah. Ive been super busy with school and band. Soon I will spending about 13 hours at school per day. Fun. So the updates will be coming. Just not super fast. Plus, Ive been dealing with a love triangle thing (don't ask) and Play try-outs and marching band crap and I tore a ligement a few weeks ago during band practice. _**

**_Well, enough with my petty life. On with the story!_**

Chapter 16: Summer Stories

Holly sat in her office reviewing the footage from her and Retrieval team 1's helmets. She knew that it would be hard to prove that Trouble had been mesmerized by the hooded figure. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she froze the image on the screen. The image showed the hooded figure standing over Trouble. Holly zoomed in on the face of the figure. "D'Arvit," she muttered to herself. The image was too blurry for her to make out the picture. She was typing in the command to clean the image up when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Holly said before minimizing the window on her computer.

"Major Short?" A timed voice asked from the door way.

Holly looked up to see a pixie with jet black hair and grey eyes standing in the door way. "Can I help you?"

"Um, I'm Tina Hangs…." The pixie said slowly stepping into the office.

"Jessie's mother," Holly said standing up. "Please, come in and take a seat." Tina shuffled into the room and sat down in one of the chairs. Holly walked behind her and shut the door. "Can I get you anything?"

Tina shook her head. "No thank you." She said as Holly walked behind her desk again. "Um, Commander Kelp was in a meeting with the council and I was sent to you." Holly nodded her head. "So, do you have any news on Jessie?"

The major looked down at her desk where Jessie's case file was spread across. "Nothing useful I'm afraid to say…."

Tina looked down at the ground with fresh tears in her eyes. "I told her staying with her aunt was a bad idea." The pixie sobbed as she pulled out a tissue.

Holly's pointed ears quivered. "What was that?"

Tina looked up at her with tears streaming down her face. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"No, it isn't nothing. What was it that you said?"

The pixie looked down at her feet before replying. "I had to go on a business trip a few years ago. I was going to have her stay with her father in Atlantis when she suggested staying with her aunt. I told her it was a bad idea, her aunt was a very busy person and she would just get in the way. But Jessie insisted on calling Op-." Tina stopped before she could say the pixie's name.

"It's okay Mrs. Hangs. We know about Koboi." Holly said. She felt bad for the woman.

She nodded her head. "Opal said it was fine with her. I come back and the next thing I know, Jessie starts getting in trouble at school then her aunt and that crazy elf tried to take over Haven…."

"Wait!" Holly said as something clicked in her head. "Jessie went to stay with Opal before the goblin rebellion?" Tina nodded her head. "How long?"

"Umm…. About two months."

Holly pulled a sheet of paper out of Jessie's case file and looked over it. She felt her eyes grow big as she read Jessie's IQ level. It was around the same level as Opal's IQ. "Mrs. Hangs, was Jessie close with Opal?"

The pixie shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know. I'm so busy with work…."

Holly jumped out of her chair. "I'll be right back," she said before sprinting out of the room and down the hall to Ops Booth. Holly crashed through the door making everyone in the room jump.

"Holly, you're going to break my doors one day. When you do, you're paying for new ones," Foaly said.

She waved his words aside. "Whatever Foaly. Pull up Opal Koboi's visitors list along with mail and phone calls." He opened his mouth to ask something but she cut him off. "Just do it!"

"Okay, okay," the centaur muttered before pulling up Howlers Peak prisoner list. "Koboi, Opal. She's gotten some mail from some crazed fans and the only phone calls or visitors she's gotten are from her lawyer."

"D'Arvit!" Holly cursed slamming her fist onto the table.

Artemis appeared at her shoulder. "What were you hoping to find Major?"

Holly sighed. "I was hoping that Jessie had been in contact with Opal."

"Why would she be in contact with her?" Butler asked. "I doubt that Jessie even knew that Opal was her aunt."

Holly shook her head. "No. Jessie went to stay with Opal two months before the goblin rebellion."

Artemis nodded his head thoughtfully. "And you think that Opal created the kidnapping scheme to get out of prison."

She nodded her head. "Something like that."

Artemis thought for a moment. "Foaly, can you check Opal's mail?"

"I think so," Foaly said as he started typing away at his computer. "The prison guards usually scan letters, packages and whatever else gets sent to a prisoner." He waited a beat as he pulled up Opal's mail. "Okay. Opal has gotten mail from Vinyaya, Greg Thomas, Lee Williams, Emily Deans and a Derek Walters."

Holly looked at the names. "Well, we can cross Vinyaya out, but Jessie could be any of the other people."

Foaly pulled up a new window and typed in one of the names. "Well, Greg is a mental person in the physic ward." He typed another name in the small box. "Lee is in love with Opal."

Artemis shuddered as Foaly typed in the next name. "Who can love her?"

"I don't…," Foaly trailed off. "Wait a minute. Derek Walters died over 30 years ago."

"When was the last letter from Derek?" Butler asked.

"Last week."

"Well, you can't write a letter when you're dead," Holly said with a smile. "Foaly, get me a level 1 clearance pass for Howlers Peak."

"Going to have a little chat with Opal?" He asked as he printed out the pass.

"No, I'm going to have a chat with your mother." Holly said taking the pass from Foaly.

"Not funny!" He called after her as she left the room.

Holly allowed herself a small smile as she walked down the hall.

**_A/N: yeah, I know. Lame chapter but it gets better. Trust. A lot of the questions you've been asking will be answered next chapter. Until then... review plz!_**


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